Knicks: The Carmelo Anthony Effect

It was a presence that has been so desperately craved since the arrivals of both Amar’e Stoudemire and Anthony, and it’s a presence both players have failed to hold up until now.

What type of presence is that, you ask? One that instills confidence, promotes trust and eliminates the guess work.

While confidence isn’t an attribute that Anthony or Stoudemire lack, it’s one that they, and every other member of the Knicks since 1999, have failed to render contagious.

That feeling the Lakers get when Kobe Bryant shoots the ball, that feeling the Bulls experience when Derrick Rose attacks the rim and that sense of assurance the Heat boast when LeBron James has the rock in his hands, is a sensation unlike any other.

It’s a complete state of trust that has everyone emotionally and physically involved believing that the ball is going to rip through the bottom of the net and that the game is going to be won. Most importantly, though, it’s an exclusive sensation that New York has not had the privilege of experiencing in quite some time.

Yes, Stoudemire revived the dying franchise only last season, and yes, Anthony has come through in the clutch before, but neither have had a game like the one the small forward had against the Bulls.

It goes beyond Anthony scoring 43 points, it goes beyond him shooting better than 50 percent from the field and it goes beyond him sending the game into, and winning it in, overtime.

For the first time since Anthony joined the team and for the first time since Patrick Ewing and Allan Houston graced Madison Square Garden’s hardwood, there wasn’t just hope running rampant throughout New York, but rather, there was confidence, bravado and an impression of certainty.

Anthony’s teammates, his head coach and the fans expected the ball to go in every time he shot it, they expected him to succeed.

And that’s what the Knicks have lacked for so long, a player whose execution is not only automatic, but a given.

This was the type of athlete New York was expecting Anthony to be when he first arrived, but for the past year, such a reality remained a pipe dream. Anthony was still expected to score, but there was an innate feeling of unease shared by all in the vicinity whenever he entered his shooting motion.

Not Sunday, though. This time, confidence prevailed. This time, Anthony was trusted to do his job. And this time, there was no doubting that his shots, specifically down the stretch, were going to go in.

It is this sense of security that has always separated not only Anthony and Stoudemire, but any of the Knicks’ best players from the NBA’s legitimate superstars. No matter who the Knicks have turned to over the years, there has always been an abundance of guess work involved.

But again, not Sunday.

For the first time since Anthony’s arrival, and for the first time in what has seemed like an eternity, the Knicks placed the game in not just capable, but unquestionable, hands.