Recently, New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony made the statement he can play at a high level for the next four or five years. No chance.
By Robby Sabo
How could anybody think otherwise?
Melo is entering his 13th season in The Association to go along with a banged up body. A season ago he could only muster 40 total games due to a bum knee.
He’s now 31-years old. No matter though. Melo still believes he has four or five more top-flight seasons left in him.
This was his response when asked if he still had elite years left in him, via Ian Begley of ESPN New York.
“Without a doubt. Without a doubt,” Anthony said after the Knicks’ final training camp practice on Saturday.
“I wasn’t a guy who would run straight to surgery for anything. But I think now, [taking] care of this really put me in position to perform at a high level for the next four or five years,” he said.
“If I was a guy who kind of played above the rim and played at a fast pace and just running and jumping — that was my game, very athletic — then I’d probably be sitting here singing a different tune,” Anthony said. “But the way that I play, the way that I know how to pace myself, the way I know how to pick my spots out on the basketball court, I’m not a guy who’s playing above the rim every play so it works in my favor.”
“I thought this week was a good test for me, getting through the two-a-days and seeing how my body was going to react to that,” Anthony said. “Playing and scrimmaging before training camp, four or five days a week, spending two, two and a half hours on the court scrimmaging and nothing else, there were a lot of tests I had to get through mentally.”
Now that we get back down to Earth, we proclaim four or five more seasons has no chance to happen.
It’s father-time, and nothing else.
When Porzingis was called at the Barclays Center as the No. 4 overall pick in the NBA Draft, Knicks fans everywhere scratched their heads. They did so believing “Zinger” would need years to develop.
As we get closer to the regular season we know now he won’t. Of course there will be a transition period, but the kid can play in the league immediately.
This alone will shift the focus off Anthony and onto Porzingis for the seasons to come.
If Melo wasn’t breaking down so much, four or five more elite level seasons could be plausible. He just cannot stay healthy enough to get it done.
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As a sports writer, could you be more biased? Carmelo ' game has evolved from what it was when he entered the league. I believe Melo is right. He has the style of play, offensively, that gets better with time. One of the purest all around scorers ever. His defense is underrated. On the perimeter he does not close out on shooters at an above average rate, however he does defend the blocks and the paint at an above average rate, forcing opponents to shoot nearly 4% lower in the post than their normal average. As the game on a whole evolves we see more and more of the stretch 4, leading me to believe that Melo will play more of a stretch 4 in the future and his body will take less abuse than today's 4. Armed with one of the leagues deadliest mid range games and his ever expanding range, I look for Melo to be an elite player into his mid 30's and maybe beyond. Knowledge of the game alone will continue to enable to him to get his shot off an as the knicks continue to add complimentary players around Melo his efficiency will also increase. Melo is a superstar and will continue that trend into the twilight of his career. Trade him to Miami tomorrow and he'll be holding the Naismith trophy by the end of 2017. Everyone is so keen on handing LeBron the crown? What did he accomplish that Melo didn't before pairing with the number 1 player and arguably a top 5 player? Give Melo the same supporting cast and witness the same result. Throughout his career his most dependable teammate has been, smh, J.R. Smith. Don't let your emotions cloud your objectivity, Melo is a superstar and will be for the majority of his career. Just for the record a torn patellar tendon is not a bum knee. It is a routine injury that even with considerable strain cannot worsen which is why he played as long as he did with it. Save the bias for the editorial. It's easy to go n on a player that made the all star cut while playing injured. How quickly we forget that just a season prior Melo put up historic numbers averaging upwards of 28 points pet game to go along with 8.5 rebounds. Do the research and tell me the last player to have that type of season, especially playing on a regular team no where near title contention? Answer: Michael Jordan.