MONTREAL — Carmelo Anthony did not clear Canadian customs and join the Knicks for their practice yesterday at McGill University.
With ‘Melo matters, as team president Donnie Walsh called it, “in limbo.” Amar’e Stoudemire warned his teammates they can’t be thinking about the Carmelo cloud that hovers over the team like LeBron James’ visage did for two years.
“At this point, it doesn’t make a difference,” Stoudemire said before the Knicks finish their preseason schedule tonight vs. the Raptors at Montreal’s Bell Centre. “The team we have, we got to keep in mind it’s all we got right now. We can’t really focus on the one that’s out there. You can’t really depend on anyone who’s not with us right now. The team we have, we’ve got to be ready to play.”
In a TNT conference call, Kevin McHale said Anthony is more distraction for his Denver teammates than the Knicks.
“I think it’ll affect his teammates a lot more,” McHale said. “It’s a lot harder to play with a guy when you’re wondering if he wants to be there. I think Carmelo will be fine. It’s how his teammates adjust to a guy that. Is he all the way in? Is he in the foxhole with us? It’s always harder for the teammates, especially with a superstar like ‘Melo who always puts up great numbers.”
Stoudemire, a close friend of the disgruntled Anthony, has done everything possible during this preseason, averaging a league-high 26 points. But he realizes the current team assembled isn’t ready to compete for a title. Not without Anthony.
“It’s going to take time,” Stoudemire said. “It’s all about us staying healthy and having longevity. We’re still fairly young. We should get to a championship-caliber team in the near future.”
The problem is Danilo Gallinari and Anthony Randolph struggled during preseason — which was lousy on two levels. The obvious one is both decreased their trade value. They are the obvious young prospects the Knicks are shopping to Denver in a potential deal.
Secondly, they need to be solid contributors if the Knicks are to make the playoffs or break their streak of nine straight losing seasons.
Gallinari likely will miss his second straight game tonight with a sore right wrist. He spent practice yesterday doing soccer drills, protecting his wrist. Gallinari vowed he will be ready for the season opener Wednesday in Toronto but it’s a shame he won’t go into the season on a shooting binge. He’s struggled the past two games and is shooting just 35 percent for preseason, 31 percent on 3-pointers.
When told he hasn’t been on fire, Gallinari defended himself.
“My body’s on fire and I feel good,” Gallinari said. “I think I’m running better than last year. I feel my body is better than last year. I have more conditioning than last year. My body is fine.”
Randolph has been disappointing, missing badly from the perimeter and being turnover-prone.
D’Antoni said he still sees him getting some minutes, but admitted they may be fleeting.
“He’ll be in the mix. I have to figure out how much, how little,” D’Antoni said. “Is it every day? He’s 21 years old. He’s got a bright future. We’re going to develop him. It could be slower than faster. A lot of it depends on game feel. He’s up and down like a 21-year-old.”
Randolph said he knows he will have limits and expects to fill in at power forward when Stoudemire is out. But if the Knicks go with Stoudemire for 40 minutes a night, that could mean scant time.
“My role is to come in, back up Amar’e when he needs his rest,” Randolph said. “Come in, give him a little blow and not have much of a dip when he leaves the game.”