The elephant in the room that threatens to overshadow Linsanity is whether Carmelo Anthony will mesh with Jeremy Lin, or mess with the Knicks’ newfound chemistry.
Anthony, who hopes to return from his strained right groin Friday against New Orleans, has heard the doubts and found them laughable. Coach Mike D’Antoni is calling them ludicrous.
“I know there’s questions about, ‘Can I fit in?’ But this is like a dream come true to me. It takes some pressure off of me. I don’t have to play point guard,” Anthony said. “When I get back Jeremy will have the ball in his hands and I’m playing off of that. I hear them all the time. I heard it when I first came here with Amar’e, now I hear them with Jeremy Lin.
“Actually, it’s funny to me when I’m reading the stuff. It’s more funny than anything, because at the end of the day I know what I bring to the game, I know what I bring to this team. My teammates know. But to say is it going to work, how can I fit in? It’s easy: Give him the ball and space out. I get back to doing what I know how to do best.’’
Which would be score, specifically in isolation or on the mid-post. Anthony has excelled before playing with ball-dominating point guards like Chauncey Billups and Andre Miller, but the Knicks’ lack of competent point guard play this season has forced him to play the dual roles of both scorer and facilitator.
“I don’t think I want to take [my isolations] away, I don’t think Coach wants to take that away,” Anthony said. “But at the same time, I have to get away from the ball knowing Jeremy’s the guy with the basketball, and knowing that he can create for me, for Amar’e, for everybody else and make other guys better.’’
With the Knicks not yet enjoying the ball movement and spacing they have found with Lin, Anthony was among the NBA leaders in isolation plays but shot less than 30 percent in those situations. According to hoopdata.com, Anthony was fourth and Lin sixth in usage rate, or how many possessions/40 minutes a player uses.
“We’ll make jokes about it. You don’t have to talk about it; he knows the deal and he’s not going to mess it up. I think that’s ludicrous. … This should only enhance what we’re doing. If we had a point guard that really could set people up, then we’re going to be better off,’’ said D’Antoni, adding, “toward the end of the week he could start playing one way or the other, hopefully.’’
Anthony, who strained his groin last Monday against Utah — Lin’s debut as the starting point guard — has missed the last three games, but agreed with D’Antoni’s timetable.
“That’s what we’re looking for. But something like this, I want to take it day-by-day, see how it feels. Last week, some days were better than others. Now I’m not feeling too much pain, but there’s still some there. We’ll see how it goes,’’ said Anthony. “We’ll see once I get back on the court maybe [today] or Wednesday.’’
The Knicks play tonight at Toronto, and host Sacramento tomorrow. They are off Thursday.