When I say that all Carmelo Anthony does is score and that he doesn't make his teammates better, my favorite argument from Knicks fans is, "He's not asked to do other things." Really? So he's not asked to make the guys around him better because he's the best player on the team, or does he just not want to make the guys around him better because it means less points for him? Before you answer, I give you Kevin Durant.
Kevin Durant took a huge hit when he lost his sidekick, Russell Westbrook, last week for the remainder of the playoffs. When that happened, did Durant just start shooting the basketball 40 times a game? No, even though he started shooting more, he also started doing other things to make his team better. He started grabbing rebounds and he started dishing out assists. He also started playing tougher defense. Let's compare the stat lines of Melo and KD from yesterday's game ones.
In a Knicks loss to the Pacers Melo scored 27 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and had 1 assist in 36 minutes. He also had a steal, which I'm sure was by accident since he has no interest in playing defense. The Knicks would lose the game 102-95 as Melo would shoot 36% from the field. On the other hand, in a Thunder comeback win against the Grizzlies, Durant scored 35 points, pulled down 15 boards, had 6 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks in 44 minutes. He also shot 50% from the field and fueled the Thunder comeback.
Where am I going with this? It's quite simple. Don't sit there and try and tell yourself that Melo "isn't asked" to do anything but score. I'm pretty sure Durant could put up a 50 spot every game if he wanted to but guess what? Sure he scored 35 but he also had 6 assists. He's leaving some points on the floor and making his team better even after he lost is sidekick. I'm sure he wasn't asked to do anything but score either, but he does because he knows it makes his team better and in turn it's also giving him one on one opportunities because the defense is worrying about him passing the ball.
If Melo would score 20 with 7 or 8 assists every game I guarantee the Knicks would be able to compete with Miami. But since he doesn't they might not get passed Indiana. If you're not willing to share the wealth in the postseason your team can't win. If Knicks fans and Carmelo don't understand that by now then it's just a lost cause. Tell me I'm wrong all you want. But when the Knicks go home and the Thunder move on, don't say I didn't tell you so.
