PLAYOFF PRESSURE: Carmelo Anthony was at his worst against Paul Pierce and the Celtics on Sunday night. Post columnist Mike Vaccaro says the polarizing figure has to bounce back in Game 2 tonight. (getty)
PLAYOFF PRESSURE: Carmelo Anthony was at his worst against Paul Pierce and the Celtics on Sunday night. Post columnist Mike Vaccaro says the polarizing figure has to bounce back in Game 2 tonight. (Getty Images)
BOSTON — You can see and sense how this is going to go for Carmelo Anthony, who is as extraordinary a talent — and as polarizing a personality — as the Knicks have had in years. You can see and sense the unwritten rules that have already devolved into doctrine.
When he is good . . . well, he’s supposed to be good, right? Didn’t the Knicks trade half of Manhattan island for him? Isn’t he paid like a sultan? Hasn’t he already been designated the crown prince of possibility?
And when he’s not-so-good . . .
“He can go seven straight games where he makes the shot at the end, and the one he misses people say, ‘Ooooh, what’s wrong with Carmelo?’ “ Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said yesterday.
Now, this isn’t exactly a horrific miscarriage of justice. With great talent and greater salary comes great expectation and greater responsibility. Anthony wanted New York City. He wanted this stage, this forum, this spotlight. He sought it out. He angled for it. And when you do that, you’d better have big shoulders and tough skin.
When you do that, you’d better understand that if you wind up shooting 5-for-18 in your first playoff game as a Knick, if you miss the do-or-die shot at the end, then people are going to be glaring at you. People will be inclined to forget how brilliant you were across the season’s final 2 1/2 weeks, when you helped push the Knicks to the seven-game winning streak that sealed the No. 6 seed.
There will be no such amnesia about failure in the postseason.
“I couldn’t buy a bucket last night,” Anthony said, shaking his head.
Practice had ended about 20 minutes earlier, but he had stayed for more work, shooting 30 3-pointers, then 30 deep 2-pointers, then a few dozen free throws, alternately taking passes and advice from Allan Houston, who could tell him a thing or two about living up to advanced notice.
“I know I can make those shots,” Anthony said. “It’s a matter of them not going in. The last shot? It felt great leaving my hands. It’s the same shot I hit to beat Philly late in the season. The shots aren’t the problem. Making the shots is the issue.”
Well, there are other issues. There was the fact that Amar’e Stoudemire, brilliant all night and especially in the first nine minutes of the fourth quarter, never got a shot in the game’s final three. There was Toney Douglas, wide open and wildly waving his arms as Anthony launched his final 3-pointer with around four seconds left in the game. There were the two quick fouls he drew in the game’s first 88 seconds, which limited his aggressiveness the rest of the night. And there was the offensive foul for which he was whistled that even Paul Pierce admitted was a difficult whistle to blow so late in a critical game.
“He’s human,” D’Antoni said. “That’s what that says to me.”
The truth is, Anthony will forever be A-Rod to Stoudemire’s Jeter, LeBron to Amar’e’s D-Wade.
Stoudemire was here first, he established a rapport with Knicks fans, established the Knicks as a viable destination franchise again. The guy who comes first always gets the benefit of the doubt, especially when that guy has been as fabulous as Stoudemire. Anthony? He’ll always be the guy who came after.
That doesn’t mean he can’t find happiness and love in New York. It does mean he needs to try harder to acquire them. It means he might want to have one of those patented Melo games tonight, Game 2 against the Celtics, and if he gets the chance to knock down a big shot late, he might want to make it this time. He had three such shots this year, game-winners with less than 10 seconds to go, two of them as a Knick. He’s had 16 such shots in his career.
“You’re talking about one of the game’s great finishers the last 10 years,” D’Antoni said. “I’m not going to nit-pick him. I trust him.”
Knicks fans want to, but they need the proof. They need to see. This series — tonight, to be specific — wouldn’t be a bad time to testify.
michael.vaccaro@nypost.com