Carmelo Anthony figures it’ll be plenty intense tonight. And not just because the Knicks are still battling for a playoff spot.
His history with the opponent is why.
For the first time since the Knicks landed Anthony last month and beat out their local rivals for his services, Anthony will face the Nets.
It should be a fascinating matchup at the Garden, considering Anthony strongly preferred the Knicks to the Nets — but, the Knicks believed, would have been willing to sign with New Jersey if a deal with New York didn’t get done.
“I’m home now. I’m on the home court. I’m not in Jersey playing out there. That’s next week,” Anthony said yesterday, aware that he faces the Nets at the Prudential Center a week from Friday.
“But I think the game will be intense out there [tonight]. I think those guys knowing of being part of the whole Melo Drama situation from day one and this being my first time playing against them since the trade went down.”
The trade went down after the Nets were involved in Anthony talks since the beginning of the season. At one point, Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov publicly pulled out of the discussions.
Then on Jan. 31 in Newark, Anthony (then a Nugget) tore up the Nets for 37 points, hearing a mixed reaction from the Prudential Center crowd. Eventually, the Nets got back in the Anthony talks, with Prokhorov even meeting with him in Los Angeles during All-
Star weekend.
When Anthony was acquired by the Knicks, he said he didn’t want to discuss whether he would have signed with the Nets. Anthony, however, desperately wanted to sign an extension (which he did with the Knicks), and James Dolan felt certain he would have signed with the Nets if the Knicks weren’t able to make a deal.
Thus, the Knicks ended up giving the Nuggets almost the entire package that Denver originally requested, aside from Landry Fields.
“It was a lot that I was thinking about throughout that whole process, not really knowing or being sure where I was going to end up at,” Anthony said. “Because at the end of the day, this is a business, and teams have got to make the best business decision. But I’m happy that I’m here. I’m happy that I ended up here. And I think everybody else out here is excited about that.”
Anthony also believes each of the three teams involved in the final talks (Knicks, Nets and Nuggets) can be content. After losing Anthony, the Nets dealt for star point guard Deron Williams, meaning tonight features a player the Knicks could have potentially acquired if they had backed out of the Anthony deal, if the ailing Williams plays.
“I think everybody should be happy about all the transactions and just moving forward,” Anthony said.
Anthony is coming off a magnificent game, scoring 39 points and 10 rebounds in the Knicks’ overtime win over the Magic on Monday, ending the team’s six-game skid.
He’s averaging 25.6 points and 6.2 rebounds in his 20 games as a Knick.
“I’m excited about the [Nets] game,” Anthony said. “Especially after us having the game like we had [Monday] night. Just looking forward to basically doing the same thing [tonight].”
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Ronny Turiaf, who’s missed two games with a strained ankle, is questionable for tonight. Shawne Williams, with back spasms, also
is questionable.