IT’S OVER: Carmelo Anthony is grilled by media as the Knicks prepared yesterday to head into the long offseason. (Neil Miller)
Carmelo Anthony, as the face of the Knicks franchise, clearly sees his obligation to make sure to portray a happy public face to New York, orange-and-blue-colored glasses covering his eyes.
It’s a delusional face.
“We’re right there,” Melo says.
Right where?
Nowhere near Miami, nowhere near the Heat, that’s where.
“We kinda teased the city of New York a little bit, because now everybody expects us to play at this level, this high level,” Melo says.
Sorry, the city of New York has waited 40 years for an NBA championship. The city of New York expects the Knicks to play at something higher than an Eastern Conference semifinals level.
But unless changes are made, changes more drastic than Melo seems to think are needed, the city of New York has every right to wonder whether the championship window, opened the moment Melo arrived to join forces with Amar’e Stoudemire, is now closed, perhaps forever, on the Carmelo Anthony Era in New York should he decide to opt-out after next season.
“It’s just some detail-oriented things that we kinda gotta fix,” Melo says.
Dream on.
There is plenty to fix on the Knicks.
Let’s start with an organizational-wide attitude adjustment, a mentality that there are no medals for trying and nothing short of a championship is acceptable
This is not acceptable:
“This was the first time that this team was assembled, and to be able to accomplish what we were able to accomplish this year and take the steps in the right direction, I was excited about that, and I’m still excited about what’s here to come,” Melo says.
Nor is this:
“I don’t think we underachieved,” Melo says. “We made strides forward, we took huge steps. When I first got here in New York, I always said this was a process, it’s gonna take a couple of years, 2-3 years, and this is the first year that the pieces of the puzzle are starting to fall into place. So we’re only gonna get better from here on out.”
Thank you, Nostramelo. Stoudemire’s role — and knees — are uncertain. Chris Copeland may or may not be back. Pablo Prigioni is likely gone. Debilitated Tyson Chandler, still recovering from Hibbertitis, will be 31 in October. Jason Kidd may be kicked to the curb.
And, oh, that J.R. Smith fellow. Melo wants him back, Rihanna doesn’t. If there is a lesson to be learned from the playoffs, it’s this: depending upon the streaky, volatile Smith, should he return, to play Robin to Melo’s Batman is a death wish.
Which brings us to Iman Shumpert. Now that he is past his surgical knee worries, he needs to emerge as coach Mike Woodson’s No. 2 option.
“They want to see me be more decisive offensively,” Shumpert said yesterday, following an exit meeting that none of the Knicks, not even Melo, expected before June.
The Knicks also need Shumpert to step up into a leadership role, which he seems born to do.
“We gotta hold each other accountable, and come next year, little things like not playing hard should never come into play,” Shumpert said.
It is always on the coach to hold his players accountable for not playing hard and Woodson needs to take that next step from good coach to elite coach. Letting the Pacers steal Game 1 at the Garden never should have happened, after all the time Woodson spent talking about the importance of a dominant homecourt advantage. Kenyon Martin for Prigioni in Game 4 was a panic move.
“Now it’s important for us players and coaches to take it to the next level,” Chandler said.
If Smith is back, and his shot and head go awry, Woodson can’t afford not to yank him. The playoffs are no time to become Bickerbockers either; it turns out Chandler wasn’t the only one who didn’t think everyone was on the same page offensively.
“I think that we have a lot of bad possessions where we don’t really have any cohesiveness. … We’re just sorta out there, and it becomes watching whoever has the ball,” Shumpert said. “You can’t do that.”
K-Mart is a keeper, because he provided an element of toughness and physicality that was in short supply. The old Pat Riley line — no rebounds, no ring — resonates louder than ever. The Knicks could use a young David West–type in the paint, because their reliance on the 3-ball too often makes them the equivalent of a pass-happy NFL Dome team playing in the frozen tundra come playoff time.
“Things take time,” Raymond Felton said.
Hopefully it won’t take 40 years for the next championship.
“We’re not there yet,” Chandler said.
They are the New York Fix.