ORLANDO, Fla. — Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler, Jeremy Lin and Landry Fields left AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami late Thursday night headed their separate ways for the All-Star break.
The Knicks starting five — and it is a very good starting five — were all going someplace warm.
Stoudemire headed southeast for the Caribbean. Anthony, Fields and Lin were due north for Orlando and the bedlam of All-Star Weekend. Chandler, who should have been an Orlando All-Star, too, flew to a quiet beach.
Coach Mike D’Antoni, who spent the weekend lounging in Westchester, gets his starting five back at 2 p.m. today for the Knicks’ first post-break practice and start of what could become the best spring for New York basketball since 1999.
Lin, during a special press conference for Asian media this weekend, said of winning a title this season, “I think we have the talent, I know we have the talent to do it.’’
Lin speaks the truth. The Knicks have enough talent to make a deep playoff run. They filled a giant void at center with one of the very best in Chandler, who has anchored the NBA’s ninth-best defense.
They now have their starting point guard who fits D’Antoni’s speed-ball offense in Lin and possibly a dynamic backup in Baron Davis once the rust is off.
Fields is happy again with Lin as sidekick. They have a deep bench with the addition of sharpshooting guard J.R. Smith and emergence of 3-point ace Steve Novak. D’Antoni can go 11-deep on any night, once rugged rookie power forward Josh Harrellson and defensive guard Iman Shumpert return, possibly in Wednesday’s second-half opener against Cleveland.
They have the talent and coaching — credit Mike Woodson for the consistent defensive structure — to make a deep playoff run.
Whether they do so comes down to one word — a word Stoudemire expressed as he left Miami: “sacrifice.’’
“I’ve spent a year where I’ve pretty much had to sacrifice a lot of my game,’’ Stoudemire said. “Whatever it takes to win. That’s the ultimate goal. If it’s sacrificing the All-Star Game for the betterment of the team, it’s how it goes sometimes.’’
Stoudemire probably has lost a step. He’ll be the first one to admit he’s not the same offensive menace around the rim as he was a few years back. But he is willing to play a less-dominant role — read fewer minutes — if it means his first championship. Let’s hope Anthony also embraces “sacrifice.”
Anthony, who had the lowest shooting percentage of any All-Star at 39.7 percent, got his accolades last night in the land of Disney, part of the starting lineup of the Eastern Conference All-Star team. He was cheered during intros while his fellow starting forward LeBron James was booed.
Now Anthony, who finished with 19 points and nine rebounds, must shake Fantasyland out of his system, head back to New York and think of himself as another solid piece to a championship puzzle. No more, no less. Anthony keeps saying he has been “around a long time,’’ but not long enough to ever come close to winning an NBA championship.
Anthony, during the weekend, said the Knicks have to find “our identity’’ in these next two weeks with the extra practice time. Starting today, they can stage five practices this week, akin to a training camp amid a lockout schedule. Anthony said the Knicks were one team without Lin, another team with Lin and now a different club altogether with Smith and Davis added and Harrellson coming back.
“We haven’t had any time to put those details down pat,’’ Anthony said. “Every week, somebody’s hurt, bringing guys in, bringing guys back.
“These next two weeks are very important to get our chemistry down pat and talk about it. Put everything out on the table. Now is really the time to put it all on the table.’’
Now is really the time to check egos at the door of the Westchester practice facility and become the tight, affable, share-the-ball-and-credit unit that was 7-0 between Feb. 4 and Feb. 15. Even Lin has to sacrifice amidst his sudden worldwide fame. There could be nights the matchups are lousy and D’Antoni sits him.
In truth, Linsanity has to end for a championship run to begin. And Lin — who has adeptly tuned out the furor engulfing him — is smart enough to get it.
“Hopefully as the season progresses, it will go from (Linsanity) to the New York Knicks,” Lin said in Orlando.
Chris Paul believes the Knicks are still Anthony’s club. “At the end of the day, it starts with Melo and ends with Melo,’’ Paul said.
It does not. It is not Anthony’s team. It is not Lin’s team. It is just the Knicks. And they might be on to something special.
marc.berman@nypost.com