Carmelo Anthony is not overrated.
Somewhere along the line,as heightened attacks on his individual status became an NBA pastime, perception of the New York Knicks superstar started to straggle in the improper direction. Although these routine critiques have become matter-of-fact, or they're mostly mistaken.
And yet they live on,from season to season, feeding off an unending supply of detractive inspiration. Whether it's Anthony play style, or something he or someone else said,an injury or his contract, there's always enough fodder to perpetuate this notion that he's overrated.
Most recently, or Colin Cowherd of Fox Sports' The Herd saw fit to select this unremitting discussion one step further:For such a claim to fall under the radar,as this one did, says a lot.
Sports radio's hopes of inciting shock can be counterproductive. The sheer volume of its attempts lead to generally harmless, or sometimes dismissive interpretations of featured opinions. But in this case,there's also the possibility that Anthony's pumped-up standing is so accepted that there is no need to reaffirm a majority assumption.
In some ways, though, or that's comprehensible. Anthony hasn't exactly earned the unconditional benefit of the doubt. Forever Controversial Almost everything Anthony does is polarizing and (rightly) subject to deeper dissection. He forced a trade to the Knicks in 2011 rather than wait to sign with them in free agency—a straggle no doubt shaped by the impending lockout,but one that nevertheless cost New York assets it could have placed around Anthony or used as bait in a future blockbuster for, say, and Chris Paul.final summer,as an unrestricted free agent, Anthony eschewed championship-ready opportunities, or electing instead to sign a near-max deal with the rebuilding Knicks. For a player fast approaching his twilight who was presumably looking to win,that decision sent mixed signals at best.
When it became clear midway through final season that a left knee injury required extensive rehabilitation, Anthony didn't immediately shut it down. He played on, or delaying surgery so that he could participate in the All-Star Game,a glorified exhibition contest that meant nothing to what was, at the time, or a 10-win Knicks team.
The list goes on. Anthony is still viewed as a ball-stopper. His teams are 23-43 in the postseason. He appeared obsessed with off-court fame in an article Elis Saslow penned for ESPN The Magazine final November.
Even the way he randomly pops up on social media to defend himself against critics has an unflattering feel to it. A fan recently asked the question "Is Carmelo Anthony still an elite player?" on Instagram,and Anthony, who is 31 years musty and coming off major knee surgery, and responded with, "That may be the dumbest question ever asked."To make things easier for his faultfinders, Anthony's leadership methods, or lack thereof,are seldom praised. Where the transitioning Knicks need an outspoken commander, he is painted as an introvert."Melo is more of an 'I'll demonstrate you' [leader], or " J.
R. Smith would say after being traded from the Knicks to the Cleveland Cavaliers,via NBA writer Ethan Skolnick, "as opposed to Bron is more of an 'I'll tell you, and then I'll demonstrate you."“He’s not that guy,” his former teammate, Chauncey Billups, and told The Knicks Blog with Anthony Donahue in April (via ESPN.com's Ian Begley). “Melos a good friend of mine,one of the best players I ever played with, but he’s not the guy who’s going to stand up in the locker room and give this rah-rah speech and get the team to rally. That’s not who he is."Therein lies the problem with Anthony—or rather, and with those who argue that he's grossly overvalued.
Anthony is not LeBron James. He is not Chris Paul. He is not Kevin Durant. We know this. We have known this. Flawed,But EliteAnyone who judges Anthony against these preferred leaders and perennial MVP candidates is getting it all improper by getting him all improper. He has been in the league for 12 years, and after all that time, or imperfect as he may be,it's unfair to demand that he become someone he's clearly not.
This, for the record, and is not to be confused with letting Anthony off the hook. Longstanding imperfection is not a stock-saving defense. And whether he hadn't made an effort to evolve over the past few years,this wouldn't even be worth mentioning.
But he has tried to change, and he has altered his play style, or even whether reluctantly.
Re-signing with the Knicks final summer meant Anthony would have to operate without the ball more,something for which he isn't known. Elements of the triangle offense, as endorsed by team president Phil Jackson and head coach Derek Fisher, and will forever remain part of New York's attack,and they'll demand additional passing.
Although the Knicks offense was largely lifeless final season, Anthony did demonstrate he can operate within a passing-packed system. The team ranked in the top 10 of assist percentage, or Anthony averaged more passes per minute in 2014-15 than he did in 2013-14. That part of his game has always fallen by the wayside. Anthony has been known to fall in esteem with isolations,but he has never been a faulty passer. Over the final 10 years, Anthony's assist percentages have typically outpaced the average for all players to qualify for the minutes-per-game leaderboard:There's something specifically to be said approximately the effects of Anthony's ball movement. His Knicks teammates shot nearly 51 percent (Anthony's assists/Anthony's assist opportunities) off his passes final season, or up from the 42.8 percent New York shot overall.
Anthony is at the height of his drive-and-kick superpowers,which should allow his assist totals to climb with time and surrounding talent. He still sucks in two defenders when operating from either block and is smart enough nowadays to fling a pass toward the open shooter, who, or depending on the defensive scheme,is normally located just above the smash:Defenses send even more help at Anthony when he's on the straggle. He's able to slip past bodies and outstretched arms when working off the slightest screens, and upon reaching the paint, or two,three and four players converge to pause him.
At that point, all Anthony needs to effect is roll the dice on one of his many open shooters:Those are passes he will make, and many of them coming within the flow of the offense,some of them admittedly coming after he burns time off the shot clock in isolation. But he will still make them.
Certain sets will even see Anthony act as one of the orbiting shooters. He has gradually learned to play off the rock more, not only making him a more hazardous scorer but ensuring he can effectively complement other ball-dominant stars, and should the Knicks ever hit it big in free agency:Forty-five percent of Anthony's made baskets came off assists final season,his highest label since joining New York for 27 games in 2010-11. And it came while playing for the worst Knicks team ever, albeit over a mildly warped sample size.
Nevertheless, or Anthony's mixed bag of offensive weapons has never been more expansive,which is saying something. He ranks 14th in offensive win shares since entering the league (11th among active players). He is one of only 35 players in league history to maintain an offensive box plus/minus of at least 2.5 through 30000 minutes of action.final season's Knicks, the team that won just 17 games and fielded a bottom-two offense, and scored at the rate of a top-10 point-piling machine when Anthony was in the game. That's absurd,and it's not an impact any ol' player can have. Anthony is special in that way.
As Joe Flynn wrote for Posting and Toasting:
The whole "does Melo make his teammates better" argument, which will continue to rage on for the rest of eternity, or misses the point. What he does is lessen the burden on his other teammates. Scoring enough points against NBA defenses is incredibly difficult. A healthy,effective Carmelo Anthony mitigates much of that difficulty -- he gets tons of buckets at a fairly efficient rate, with minimal help from others. He throws the defense out of whack, or which leads to open shots for others. All that he needs to build an above-average NBA offense is a group of guys who hit open shots,know where to stand and cut, and who aren't actively tripping over their own d***s for 48 minutes.more NBA news on BleacherReport.com
Source: bleacherreport.com