Well, now.
Carmelo Anthony had a busy offseason. He went free-agency hunting, eventually re-signed with the Knicks and even lost some weight. Things aren’t going to settle down now with training camp underway, either. He has a team to lead and a new system to learn.
And a bunch of righteous, hard-nosed, reputation-defaming bastards to neutralize.
Apparently.
Lots of crazy stuff is said at NBA media days. It’s the place where optimism, however fake or ridiculous, goes to bed. One of the things Anthony said, though, may have taken the proverbial cake that he most definitely did not eat over the summer.
From ESPN.com’s Chris Broussard:
Melo told me he's "the most underrated superstar" in the league…
— Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) September 29, 2014
Before we go on, The Wall Street Journal‘s Chris Herring hit this sound bite right on the head:
Melo's oxymoron game is strong. RT @Chris_Broussard: Melo told me he's "the most underrated superstar" in the league.
— Chris Herring (@Herring_NBA) September 29, 2014
Anyway, moving on.
What Anthony said isn’t totally egregious. Over the last two years it seems he has, in a way, become underrated. The New York Knicks haven’t been too successful in the postseason, and while he’s improved certain aspects of his game—spot-up shooting, for one—he still lacks the do-it-all quality that allows us to worship the ground LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis walk on. So, in that sense, he’s underrated. He’s one of the few players who can literally carry a team on his own. That cannot be discounted.
But most underrated superstar in the league? Come on now. Is that even thing? Superstars are lauded in general. To say one is underrated feels weird. It has a very “my gold shoes are too tight” feel to it, so I’m not sure what Anthony is going for here.
Perhaps he’s just looking for extra motivation. Why he needs it, I have no damn idea. The Knicks were a slop fest last year and he’s been widely criticized for returning to New York when he had the opportunity to play for teams that won more than 37 games and aren’t resting much of their future hopes on the 2015 free-agency class. And Melo knows this. He knows all of this:
On free agency, Carmelo Anthony also acknowledged that "basketball-wise" he may have had better opportunities to win if he signed elsewhere.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) September 29, 2014
Put in that context, it’s more likely Anthony believes what he’s saying. That’s a borderline hybrid of confusing and disturbing and delusional. But hey, whatever works for him. Let him espouse a me-against-the-world mentality that keeps him motivated and hungry—not for cake, though—and, hopefully, rubs off on the oddly constructed Knickerbockers.
As for where Anthony actually stands, well, that’s a fluid discussion. His place among the stars varies by season. If we’re talking about right now, he’s easily top 10. Probably top seven. That’s how good of an offensive force he is when on the floor.
So good, he’s not nearly as underrated as he thinks.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com.
