Carmelo Anthony: 'It comes a point in time when you have to believe in something'
MILWAUKEE – Carmelo Anthony grinned as he plopped down into his folding chair Wednesday night, still trying to comprehend exactly what happened as the New York Knicks romped the Milwaukee Bucks by 25 points in a season-opening victory that, for him, could easily be described as blissfully befuddling.
In his first game since having knee surgery last February, Anthony was outscored by four teammates – a former first-round bust with gold-tipped dreadlocks, two former NBA Development League call-ups and a rookie making his season debut – and matched the output of another teammate who hadn’t had a full-time job in the league for more than four years. And despite a poor shooting night, Anthony spent most of the second half waving a towel after Langston Galloway brought out a bow-and-arrow celebration for every made 3-pointer, pumping his fist after Derrick Williams celebrated an alley-oop dunk by swinging on the rim, and quietly expressing his pleasure with the injured Arron Afflalo that he didn’t have to overexert himself on the first night of back-to-back games.
Anthony is one of a few parts that remain from the team to which he decided to commit the final prime years of his NBA career two summers ago, with most of his friends banished from last season’s 17-win campaign that he has tried to left swipe from his memory. He has defiantly scoffed at suggestions that this team will only make minimal improvements this season – a scout from a Western Conference team projected that this roster would be fortunate to produce 20 wins – and encouraged Knicks fans not to be consumed by the negativity of the past two lottery teams.
“It comes a point in time when you have to believe in something,” Anthony told Yahoo Sports after the Knicks’ 122-97 win at BMO Harris Bradley Center.
Before he became a believer, Anthony had to first overcome being overwhelmed by his own doubts about himself. Holed up and basically immobile for six weeks after the first serious knee procedure of his career, Anthony was terrified by the implications it would have on his future. He’d watch games on television and have to turn away, worried that he would be a step slower upon his return from a repaired left patella tendon.
“Any time you’re kind of dealing with the knee, you start second-guessing things. Am I going to come back the same way? Am I going to have my bounce again? Am I going to be the same player? Will I be able to move like this? Will I still have my first step or my second jump? I started thinking that,” Anthony told Yahoo. “The more time you’re sitting around, you can’t move, you can’t do nothing, a lot of things go through your mind dealing with something like that.”
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Anthony went through a lengthy rehabilitation that extended through last week, a grueling physical process that required him to remove those mental barriers – “the hardest part,” he said – in order to make the necessary progress. Once he found comfort in his own recovery, Anthony then turned his attention to the Knicks’ attempts to rebound from the worst season in franchise history.
Knicks team president Phil Jackson had money to burn in free agency but couldn’t turn any of the big names available into takers. LaMarcus Aldridge wouldn’t meet with them. Greg Monroe wanted a team that was closer to winning over one that could’ve potentially helped him build a bigger brand in New York.
"I haven’t been on any commercials up until this point. I don’t know if that’ll change,” the Bucks’ center said with a laugh before the game. "If you’re a star, you’re a star. If you’re looking around the league, a lot of guys that are on commercials aren’t necessarily in the big markets. Maybe that might tie into some other people’s decisions. But as far as I go, if I was there I probably still wouldn’t be in any."
Jackson eventually settled on solid role players who would fit in well with the triangle offense and provide greater depth – such as Robin Lopez, Kyle O’Quinn, Afflalo and Williams – after using the Knicks’ highest draft pick in 30 years on a project big man from Latvia in Kristaps Porzingis. Anthony eventually had to embrace a rebuilding plan with no quick fixes and took the first step toward bringing the team together when he invited several players to Puerto Rico last August to work out and chill out. Porzingis, Galloway, O’Quinn, Jerian Grant, Kevin Seraphin, Cleanthony Early, Lance Thomas and Lou Amundson visited for an early bonding session that also included participation in a charity softball game. They learned a lot about each other, and that Thomas is pretty good with a bat after smacking two home runs.
“It was good because we all knew of each other, for us to just settle down, get it in, over dinner every night, some relaxation time,” O’Quinn said. “It was good to unwind.”
For Anthony, the workouts were most beneficial because he had only been cleared to shoot in July and was slowly rebuilding his game and his confidence. At 31, Anthony was already aware that he would have to adjust his game with age, but the injury also forced him to change his body to remain an effective player.
Having his offseason begin two months earlier than usual helped give him “the chance to kind of redefine myself and get some clarity, mentally,” he explained. “I was challenging myself to get in the best shape. You’ve got to shift everything. Your diet, what you eat, what you drink.”
The modifications allowed Anthony to make it through training camp and the preseason without any setbacks. Now, he says, "My body feels great.”
On Wednesday, the Knicks took advantage of a Bucks team that made the playoffs last season but was without three key players in Giannis Antetokounmpo (one-game suspension), Jabari Parker (left knee rehab) and O.J. Mayo (right hamstring strain). Reminded that the Knicks won their first road game of the season last year in Cleveland against the eventual Eastern Conference champion Cavaliers, Anthony replied: “I don’t remember last year. I try not to remember last year. Different season, different vibe for us.”
Anthony was once motivated by having something to prove, but that usually took away the enjoyment of the game. The recovery from his knee surgery made him more appreciative of what made the game fun and helped simplify his objective now that he's back on the court. He remained dogged in his desire to obliterate former teammate and Bucks coach Jason Kidd's plan to limit him with double teams by taking 16 shots to score just 11 points.
But Anthony's teammates spared him from being hardheaded and helped him relax by turning him into a gleeful spectator.
Williams – whose eccentric hairstyle made him a prime heckling target for Bucks fans – couldn't have asked for a better start on his third team since being drafted No. 2 overall behind Kyrie Irving in 2011. Though he has yet to fully understand the triangle offense, Williams also isn't stopping to ask questions. He scored a team-high 24 points, mostly by aggressively attacking the rim on drives or attempting to snag offensive rebounds.
Galloway and Thomas, two players who took the minor-league route to the league and joined Anthony, Cleanthony Early and Lou Amundson as the only holdovers from last season, combined for 29 points off the bench. Sasha Vujacic, a former irritant from the Los Angeles Lakers whose only NBA experience since 2011 came with a 10-day contact with the Clippers in 2014, scored 11 while starting in place of Afflalo. Lopez, whom the Knicks had to fall back on after missing out on Monroe, added the hustle, and O'Quinn, a native of Queens, brought a physical quality that could make him a fan favorite.
"I think we were fortuitous in the sense that we have a lot of guys that have high basketball IQs that are willing to put the team first," Lopez said. "I think that was evident with the guys that were remaining with the team at the end of the season, the signings they made. You can’t really establish a pattern in one game, but a lot of players had each other’s backs."
Coach Derek Fisher has consistently mentioned how much the team has been remade and how the chemistry has improved. As leadership and accountability have become established, a more selfless identity has been forged. One win against a depleted team provided some evidence, though much more is needed. Either way, Fisher has joined Anthony in refusing to dwell on the past.
“A tough season, ups and downs, that can’t define who you are. That’s the way I see it. A lot of guys in that locker room see it that way,” said Fisher, now in his second season as a head coach. “Although in some ways, we remember what happened last season, it doesn’t cast a shadow on who we are now. We’re going to stay positive, keep working hard. We’re still going to get hit a couple of times and have some down periods, but I think we have a different kind of group.”
Anthony certainly doesn’t require any convincing. “I believe in this team,” Anthony told Yahoo. “I believe in the guys on this team. I know what they can do. I know the work that they put in. I know how hungry they are to get that tag off of them and bring New York back to where it should be. We know it’s a process.”
And Anthony feels responsible to help the Knicks complete that process: “Of course, I feel that. I want to get it back to … on top of the game.”
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