A defiant Carmelo Anthony believes the knock on him of not being in great shape this season is erroneous and was surprised Knicks coach Mike Woodson said last Friday he hopes the star forward comes back to training camp next season “in better condition.’’
“I think you guys looked at that a little too much, overanalyzed that,’’ Anthony said. “We all can come back in better condition. Through the course of a season you get tired. I’m not going against what coach Woodson said, but I felt I was in phenomenal shape, especially coming down the stretch in late March and the whole month of April and coming into the playoffs. But something I always look forward to in the offseason is working out, conditioning and training and coming back in the best shape possible.’’
Anthony’s conditioning should be enhanced because he will be playing the London Olympics for Team USA, but he will never be confused with the sculpted bodies of Miami’s LeBron James or Dwyane Wade. Anthony won Player of the Month for April, but sputtered in the first three games versus the Heat in the first round. He rallied to score 41 and 35 points in the final two games but ultimately it was another first-round KO for him — the eighth in nine seasons.
On a TNT telecast, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal ripped him for not making his teammates better and being more playmaker. Anthony didn’t appreciate the remarks.
“I don’t really care what [those] guys say,’’ Anthony said. “I know what I have to do. I’m out there playing. Those guys aren’t out there playing. They’re looking at it from the sidelines. As far as what they have to say, I’m not too concerned.’’
Anthony, who warred with former coach Mike D’Antoni, said he points to the 18-6 finish under Woodson rather than their 4-1 playoff flameout in which they were struck by a series of injuries, with Tyson Chandler’s Game 1 flu, Iman Shumpert and Baron Davis blowing out their knees and Amar’e Stoudemire missing Game 3 after hand surgery from punching a fire extinguisher.
“For the most part, we had an unbelievable season,’’ Anthony said. “It started off one way. It ended up another way. Once we found that consistency we took advantage of that. The last two months we played some of our best basketball. Guys were feeling great about themselves and the team. The energy that we created for ourselves, for the city, for the fans was phenomenal. The fans stuck with us throughout. The last couple of months we found our identity as team — on the defensive end and offensive end.‘’
* Steve Novak said on his free agency: “All I know is how much I enjoyed playing here and how much I want to be here. What the marketplace will bring is something my family will have to look at.’’