Carmelo Anthony says the New York Knicks will “absolutely” make the playoffs this season. While that seems wishful thinking, it’s no doubt more heartening for the high-scoring superstar to believe than admitting his team’s current reality – especially given his extreme discomfort with it. Of the Knicks missing the playoffs for a second consecutive season, Anthony says he “wouldn’t know how to deal” with such disappointment.
Via Al Iannazzone of the New York Daily News:
But [Anthony] took $124 million from the Knicks, hoping that Jackson’s vision and the execution of his plan will lead to the team’s first title since 1973.
The odds of it happening this season are as thin as dental floss. The Knicks’ chances of missing out on the playoffs for the second straight year are better.
“I wouldn’t know how to deal with that,” Anthony said.
Well, Carmelo better start coming to grips with it now. New York really does seem to be on the right track after appointing Phil Jackson basketball czar, but fruits of the sweeping changes he and coach Derek Fisher are implementing won’t be felt in wins and losses this season.
The Eastern Conference still pales in comparison to the West, but its upper middle class hasn’t been stronger in years. The Atlanta Hawks, Washington Wizards, Toronto Raptors, Charlotte Hornets, and Miami Heat seem destined to battle below the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls for playoff positioning. Some include the Brooklyn Nets in that group, and the Detroit Pistons appear primed to surprise under the tutelage of Stan Van Gundy.
That’s nine teams clearly above the Knicks in the conference pecking order. And only eight, you may remember, are awarded postseason berths. Is it possible a re-built New York squad jells and learns nuances of the triangle offense sooner than anticipated? Perhaps. But that possibility is a far, far cry from likely. The Knicks would almost surely need to reap benefits of a serious injury to superior contenders to have a legitimate shot at playing come spring.
And as awful as that is for ‘Melo to admit, it’s also the circumstance for which he signed up this summer. He’s said all the right things about being on board with Jackson’s long-term blueprint for success, and admitting New York’s long-shot postseason odds is a motivational tactic most would deem counterproductive.
But as hard as it may be, it would be prudent for Anthony to start preparing himself nonetheless.
What do you think?
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