MIAMI — Carmelo Anthony has a sore wrist, ankle and thumb, and yesterday morning he came down with a case of The LeBron Flu.
With the Knicks’ nationally televised game against LeBron James and the Heat looming last night, with the likes of Alex Rodriguez and Isiah Thomas in front-row seats, Anthony bailed out. He decided to shut it down, spent the entirety of the Knicks’ 99-89 loss in the locker room receiving treatment, and he also will miss tonight’s game in Houston.
If Anthony truly felt he couldn’t help the team in any capacity last night, I’d commend him for being a team player. But more likely Anthony felt he couldn’t help the image of Melo The Superstar.
Had he played, Anthony knew he would have had to take on a complementary role, take much fewer shots, be a decoy, concentrate on defense and rebounding. He couldn’t bear to do it while his archrivals and compadres James and Dwyane Wade were soaring through the air for dunks and reverse layups as the electric duo did most of the night at AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami’s victory.
No matter Anthony’s comments yesterday to explain his decision to not play, the choice was more about him than about his team.
After a full day off Thursday in the Miami sunshine, Anthony had a sore ankle, sore wrist, sore thumb and sore ego. Sitting out for two games isn’t a bad idea, but he could have waited for tonight in Houston and Tuesday against the Pistons at the Garden. He at least could have tried to slow down the rampaging James.
“At the end of the day I’ve just got to be smart,” Anthony said at yesterday’s morning shoot-around. “I was trying to be a superhero. It was hurting the team. It wasn’t doing anything for me, my psyche, my body. It was making it worse. I was trying to hide it when talking to Coach [Mike D’Antoni] and my teammates.”
Anthony is shooting 39.4 percent, and 34.4 percent in his last nine games. But the night in Charlotte when he posted his career-low one point while going 0 for 7, the Knicks moved the ball and their offense flourished. Anthony focused on passing and rebounding (he had 11 boards) and teammates and D’Antoni praised him for the part he played.
Anthony wanted nothing to do with a minor role again, not against James and the Heat.
Instead, he let Bill Walker, who was scorched by James much of the night, handle that chore. If Anthony weren’t going to be the star, he didn’t seem to want any part of the game, and the high-flying Heat dunked their way to victory with countless highlight-reel moments.
Anthony should be back Tuesday at the Garden against the Pistons, a club the Knicks surely could beat without him.
“It was hard to stay positive after I was trying to hide it and fight it, but there’s only so much fight,’’ Anthony said. “It was one injury after another. My ankle wasn’t getting any better. My wrist wasn’t getting any better. You guys were watching the games. I wasn’t myself. I didn’t look like myself. So we came to this decision.
When James heard the news he wouldn’t be facing Anthony, he was disappointed.
“It’s like playing the Lakers when Kobe’s not playing,” James said.
Kobe Bryant, dealing with his own knee and wrist issues, would have played last night under similar circumstances, then sat in his team’s next game. The great ones play through these kinds of ailments on big nights. It is what makes them great.
“[Anthony] feels [he’s hurting the team],’’ D’Antoni said, giving Anthony the benefit of the doubt. “He can’t make a shot. He’s playing through a lot of pain and it’s not going away. We got to have him 100 percent.’’
Before the road trip, the issue was discussed.
“My inclination is we need him,’’ D’Antoni said. “That’s where I am. The medical staff thought maybe we can get through it. We tried the best we could. It didn’t work.’’
Anthony should have swallowed his pride and tried to be a role player for one more night against Miami. That would have been the act of a true team player.