Melo My Man

New York is back. That was the phrase coming out of every New Yorkers mouth after the trade that landed one of the best scorers in the NBA, Carmelo Anthony. Yeah, I was excited too. I mean I am a lifelong Knicks fan (stop laughing) and the possibility of my team being able to compete with the league’s big dogs was exciting, however I am a realest (or pessimist depending on who you ask).Well the honeymoon is over and the Celtics have had the Knicks for breakfast. Now that the playoffs are in full swing and the first round is nearly complete it’s a good time to really look at the possibilities of what could be, what should be and what it isn’t.
First things first, Melo is an elite scorer and he commands a double team every time down the floor. He is big enough to post and shoot over smaller defenders and fast enough to blow past those goofy power forwards who play themselves trying to guard him. Not to mention in the last 2 minutes he is clutch like a 5 speed. He is easily one of the top 10 athletes playing ball and something not seen in NYC since Ewing had a pair of good knees. Singlehandedly he almost won game 2 with Stoudamire and Billups out with injuries (injured during the playoffs??? C’mon son...) He has the hometown pedigree, the movie star looks and the bad Puerto Rican wife (Brooklyn just breeds big booty Boricuas don’t it?) So everything should fall into place right? Well.......
This is the thing. Like I said above Melo is an elite scorer. But not much else, simply put the boy is allergic to defense. He don’t even play D in his own commercials. As fast as he moves on offense he moves just as slow on the other end. In NY that just don’t cut it. Back in the day if you came down the lane in MSG you would be nothing short of mugged. My man Mason and Oakley wasn’t having it. And Ewing as the team’s star  set the tone. If Carmelo keeps texting his wife during defensive sets its going to get ugly real soon. The average Knicks fan expects maximum effort regardless of past track record, scoring average, or amount of money on your contract.
Case in point…Eli Manning. When he was drafted by the Giants he was the second coming, the savior of a proud franchise just like Anthony. But after two or three years of seeing an awkward throwing motion, bad interviews and too many interceptions the media ate him alive. The fans saw him as a waste. He was actually being compared to Gomer Pyle! Then something incredible happened...he won the Super Bowl. Now Manning can take a shit in the middle of 5th avenue and no one would bat an eyelash. People would probably trip over themselves rushing to clean it. He is the King of the city and rightfully so. That is what awaits Anthony if he lives up to the hype.  He will have the most incredible city in the world in the palm of his hand. But the alternative is being reviled on a level somewhere between Hitler and herpes. In New York there is a thin line between being the great or being the goat, between being John Starks or Charles Smith. (Sidebar: If I ever see Charles Smith crossing the street I will mash the gas pedal and run him over with no hesitation) Melo better figure it out. Not only for the team’s, sake but for his own..........