Watch your back, LeBron. This is a Garden and a Knicks team you have yet to see.
Carmelo Anthony has designs on proving to the Heat and LeBron James today this will be a different experience than their two tangos in Miami, when Mike D’Antoni’s club got crunched into the South Beach sand.
New coach. New attitude. New arena. New offense. New defensive demeanor. New Carmelo Anthony.
The Heat enter the cauldron of the transformed Garden for the only time this regular season. If James knows what is best for his championship aspirations, he should want this to be the last time he sees Mike Woodson’s Knicks this year. James wanted no part of the Garden pressure as a free agent in July 2010, and he should want no part of the Mecca in late April.
If the season ended today, James gets Anthony in the first round in a 2-vs.-7 matchup, but the Knicks (31-28) may be on the way up. Woodson said yesterday the chief goal is winning the Atlantic Division — the Knicks trail Boston by 3 ¹/₂ games after the Celtics beat the Nets, 94-82, last night.
“That was a totally different situation than when we played them earlier,’’ said Anthony, who missed the first meeting Jan. 27 with a bad wrist. “Even though we have some of the same guys, we have a totally different team with our mentality and the way we play. It’s a lot different from the first times we played them. ‘’
Woodson is 13-4 since taking over for D’Antoni, who lost a power struggle with Anthony. Woodson takes a 9-0 Garden record into today’s showdown. In the last meeting on Feb. 23, D’Antoni’s speedball was spearheaded by Jeremy Lin, who was overwhelmed in a 1-of- 11, eight-turnover effort. Lin is out for the rest of the regular season. Moments after that loss, Anthony said: “I’m looking forward to playing Miami, in the Garden,’’
Now he’s got the chance.
“Mike Woodson, he allows those guys to succeed,’’ James said. “I’ve been able to play against the Hawks in the postseason, and I know he’s going to have Melo at that elbow. Those guys are going to read and react to that. He’s going to run a lot of pick and roll, just as he did for Joe Johnson. So it’s a different team.”
James acknowledged the Knicks have evolved in each meeting.
“We’ve all seen so many different teams from the Knicks this year,’’ James said. “We’ve seen them in the beginning without Lin, then Lin in the lineup, then without Amar’e [Stoudemire], with Amar’e, and now Melo’s playing the four, which is a matchup problem for everybody. So it’s a different team but it’s a really good team.’’
Anthony has owned James ever since their high school days, but they’ve also maintained a friendship. Asked about Anthony’s happiness under Woodson, James said: “Everyone is always happier when you’re winning. He’s back to playing Carmelo Anthony basketball. He’s one of the best scorers we have in our league, up there with Kobe [Bryant] and [Derrick] Rose and [Dwyane] WadeThose guys just score the ball at an unbelievable clip.’’
Woodson has Miami matchup issues to resolve. Iman Shumpert said he will play despite a sprained ankle. He won’t be 100 percent but said he will draw Wade at the start. He’ll also get some time on James. Though Anthony has started at power forward with Stoudemire out until at least Wednesday, he’ll likely face James, whom he has neutralized so many times in the past.
“I’ll have my times on LeBron, [Chris] Bosh, who knows who else,’’ Anthony said.
Hence, center Tyson Chandler should get power forward Chris Bosh. The issue is putting wing man Landry Fields against their inoffensive big man, ex-Knick Ronny Turiaf or Udonis Haslem, depending who starts. Or taking Fields out of the starting lineup for a big such as Jared Jeffries or Josh Harrellson.
“We can face them in the first round so we got to see what we’re made of,’’ Woodson said. “I’m anxious to see how we match upI want to see where we stand with the best teams. So far this unit has played everybody pretty good — Orlando, Philadelphia, Chicago, Indiana. We’ve competed at a high level with those teams and Miami fits right at the top.’’
James, weaving an MVP season averaging 26.8 points, 7.9 assists, 6.4 rebounds, has always wanted to put on his best show on Broadway.
“I don’t know if it’s a statement game but we want to play better on the road and that’s a good place to play knowing there’s a possible chance of us more than likely playing them in the first round,’’ James said.
Said Bosh: “They’re on a roll. I think that makes the importance of Sunday’s game, it increases it because it’s a potential playoff matchup. We don’t want them to have any confidence on us so we have to go in ready to play.’’
— Additional reporting by Chris Perkins.