It’s time for Carmelo Anthony to put up or shut up and find his outside shot.
With Amar’e Stoudemire possibly out until the playoffs because of a bulging disk, the back that must carry the Knicks into the playoffs during these final 16 games is Anthony’s. It is well and good Anthony is playing tenacious on defense for interim coach Mike Woodson, but owner James Dolan didn’t gut the team for Anthony and pay him $19 million this season because of his defense.
Anthony has the coach he wanted in Woodson and got an open court with Stoudemire undergoing rehab. Now he’s got to get it done after a hugely disappointing season — sore groin and all. It is finally his show now, and he has seemed better when Stoudemire isn’t on the floor, competing for shots.
It sounds as if The Melo Show will start Wednesday night despite his sore groin. Though Anthony (sore groin) and point guard Jeremy Lin (sore knee) are listed as questionable against the Magic at the Garden, Anthony said on ESPN Radio last night he “for sure” will play.
Anthony and Lin each underwent treatment at the team’s practice facility Tuesday. Figure Anthony laces them up at less than 100 percent to show he is ready to suck it up for the team.
“I’ve just got to step my game up,’’ Anthony said after Monday’s night’s 89-80 win over the Bucks. “We’ve been winning. As far as scoring the basketball, we haven’t been needing that. It’s been pretty much spread out. But now with those two guys [Stoudemire, Lin], there’s no telling what’s the situation with them. So it’s just time for me to step my game up in all aspects.”
Anthony is shooting a career-low 39.9 percent and is 2-of-19 from 3-point range in the past seven games. Even with his 28-point outburst in Monday’s win a good step, most of the damage was created by him drawing fouls. He was 12-of-12 from the free-throw line.
Anthony is not shrinking from this 16-game challenge, but relishing it.
“It’s a fun situation to be in,’’ Anthony said. “To know that situations like this require me to step my game up a little bit more, take it up a notch. I love moments like this. The test is right in front of our eyes.’’
The Knicks (25-25) lead the Bucks by two games for the last playoff spot. The larger goal is to supplant Philadelphia and Boston for the Atlantic Division title to ensure they wouldn’t face Chicago or Miami in the first round. They trail the Sixers by three games and the Celtics by 2½ games.
Anthony missed seven games with a sore groin in February, which coincided with much of the Knicks’ 8-1 Linsanity run.
The club collapsed upon Anthony’s return, his frustration with former coach Mike D’Antoni tangible. He became disengaged, especially on defense. It led to D’Antoni resigning on the same morning The Post reported Anthony was so unhappy, he told a confidant he would rather be traded unless he got an assurance D’Antoni wouldn’t be back.
But Anthony is no longer complaining about the system. The tension of the D’Antoni-Anthony freeze is gone. He’s been dogged on defense under Woodson, who is 7-1 since taking over. Plowing to the basket and hauling in 12 rebounds, Anthony was at his gritty best Monday.
In Stoudemire’s absence, he will have to be bigger on the boards and a bigger scorer.
“For me, I want to get stuff close to the basket,’’ Anthony said. “My shot hasn’t been falling as of late. Get some easy baskets, get to the post, get fouled, get to the foul line and let’s start inside out. That’s something I’ve been doing my whole career. I just started back doing that these last couple games.”
After the Knicks loss in Toronto on Friday, a humbled Anthony said he couldn’t find his “rhythm’’ on his jumper, said he didn’t think his defense would ever be ahead of his offense. After a tough first half against the Bucks, Anthony sank a couple of jumpers and finished 8-of-12 from the field, but he took a bad step on a missed drive in the fourth quarter, reinjuring his groin.
“I know he has been upset with himself,’’ center Tyson Chandler said. “I had to tell him that he has been playing great for us. It’s been frustrating for him, but in this winning streak, he has been playing incredible defense. That’s all we really need him to do.”
“Mentally I just wanted to be a little bit more aggressive,’’ Anthony said. “It made it a little easier when the shot was actually falling. It opens a lot of things up out there on the court.’’
Anthony refused to call his shooting woes “a slump.’’
“Not at all,’’ Anthony said. “I know I was missing shots, but calling it a slump, I’ve been in situations where I’ve missed shots for multiple games and it comes right back. It happens when you shoot the basketball.”
It can’t happen any longer.