The New York Knicks were an absolute mess last season (and that’s being kind). Whether they were dealing with endless injuries or just abysmal play, there was no end to the Knicks’ suffering. They even managed to screw up being bad, as the few games they won at the end of the season drastically reduced their chances at securing the first overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.
Yet, Carmelo Anthony isn’t letting all of that misery get to him. As he told Marc Berman of the New York Post, he thinks last season was a blessing:
Asked if he has forgotten about the 2014-15 train wreck, Anthony said: “Completely. The losing, the knee. That’s all behind me. I try not to think about it or reflect on it. It was all a blessing going through that. Never thought or imagined I’d go through something like that. I can say it made me a better person and player and put a lot of things in perspective.
“I use it as motivation. I know last year, that wasn’t who we are as an organization and who we will be. A lot of people turned their backs on us. But we’ll be all right.’’
While it’s not like the Knicks have ever been a model of success, last year was an especially harsh lesson in Murphy’s law. Still, Anthony’s right – it was a blessing. Even though the Knicks bungled their opportunity to get the first pick, they still wound up with the fourth pick. They used that pick to snag the promising Kristaps Porzingis, who some scouts feel could be the best player in the draft when we look back several years down the road.
Had Anthony played in more than 40 games, he might have led the Knicks to a few more wins, thereby dooming their chance to get a possible future franchise cornerstone. This probably isn’t the blessing Anthony is referring to, but that doesn’t make it any less true. Good for Melo; he took a page from the book of Monty Python and is looking on the bright side of life.
