Carmelo Anthony

Poll: Player of the Decade?

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 13:48:39 -0800

NBA: 5 Things We Learned This Week

Hoopsworld — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 07:52:57 -0800

By: Travis Heath

It's Sunday which means it's time to take a look at what the wonderful world of the NBA taught us this week.

Melo Makes History

"I just watched it," Anthony said of his record tying 33-point quarter the morning after lightening struck. "I didn't get a chance to watch it (Wednesday) night. I got a lot of phone calls, though."

"It was quite impressive," Melo said with a chuckle.

Quite impressive, indeed.

"When you're going through it you're in the game, you're making shots, the crowd is going crazy, your teammates are going crazy and you don't really realize what you're doing until you get in the locker room and it's on TV and you've got everybody talking about it," Anthony added. "I've never done anything like that or felt that way in one quarter."

Leave it to your friendly columnist to rain on Melo's parade, but I couldn't help but ask him about the two free throws he missed in the quarter. At the time, they seemed rather innocuous. However, all it would have taken is one of those free throws for Melo to be alone in the record book.

"I did what I could do, man. My elbow was hurting during those free throws," Melo quipped with a smile. "I wish I could have made them now that I look back like you said, but it is what it is."

While Melo was in a joking mood the day after his record setting performance, his sore right elbow is no joking matter.

"As long as I keep hitting it and bumping it I don't think it can really get any better," Anthony explained. "I don't really think it can progress. The only thing I can do is keep getting treatment and hope it gets better."

When asked if he was going to take some time off to rest the elbow, Melo blurted out with a smile before the question could even be completed: "No."

Say what you want about Melo, and lord knows people have throughout the course of his five-year NBA career, but the dude can flat-out score the rock. And whether you're a Melo fan or not, you have to give him some props for his toughness in fighting through this elbow injury because it is affecting him much more than he would prefer to let on.

The Crazy Coaching Carousel

P.J. Carlesimo, Eddie Jordan, Sam Mitchell, Randy Wittman and now Mo Cheeks. The NBA coaching carousel is spinning around as fast and erratically as ever. At this pace, we're basically losing a coach a week. At some point, you have to wonder if there will be anyone left to fire.

Welcome to the modern era of professional sports where coaches are so often the scapegoats.

"If I was writing a philosophical book on coaching, it is now so easy to put the target on the coach," explained Denver head coach George Karl. "Anytime a coach gets fired there's a sadness. I know firing the coach is the easiest and quickest way to change your philosophical path.

"It's sad to me. So many avenues of scrutiny and criticism is now the coach. Coaches that win 50 games are getting fired now."

The most perplexing part to me is the people who are replacing these guys. Often times they are coaches with little or no coaching experience. Is that really the best route for teams like Philadelphia or Toronto who are still very much in the playoff picture?

"You never know the way a team is going to be with another guy," said Karl. "I personally don't like that challenge. I think I'm pretty good at knowing coaches and knowing how coaches coach. I study coaches. In the summertime I researched assistant coaches. I like that. It's a big part of what (Denver assistant Tim Grgurich) and I do. And I don't know if I want to be pulling a coach out of a hat."

Right now, though, the pull a coach out of the hat method seems to gaining ground. Not saying it's the best way to go, but it's an unfortunate byproduct of today's instant gratification existence.

Fools' Gold in Cleveland?

Yes, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been playing good basketball and deserve some credit. A record of 20-4 is certainly nothing to sneeze at. Heading into play Saturday night, the Cavs had won 11 straight. However, the Atlanta Hawks put an end to that streak with a 97-92 victory.

While Cleveland's 11-game win streak was impressive, they didn't exactly play the best the league had to offer during that stretch. And while a lot of fans in Cleveland are excited, there is still a lot of basketball left to be played.

Certainly it's safe to say the Cavs are the second best team in the East right now. That said, the Orlando Magic are nipping at their heels.

And let's not forget, the goal is to win it all. In order for Cleveland to do that, they're going to have to beat the Boston Celtics. Count your friendly neighborhood columnist among those who don't see that happening.

Sure, Cavs' fans will point to the fact Cleveland took the Celtics seven games in the playoff last season. Of course, that's not saying much when you consider the Atlanta Hawks did, too... that same Hawks team that just so happened to knock off Cleveland on Saturday night.

It's been a very good start for the Cavs, but there is still much work to be done.

Did McDyess Make the Right Decision?

Antonio McDyess is a quiet and sensitive guy. As such, he hasn't said much about why he didn't want to join the Nuggets when he was traded to Denver last month. Sources close to McDyess have said it was a personal decision and that he didn't want to have to move to another city again so late in his career.

Many fans assumed that it was all about winning a title for McDyess. As such, they said going back to Detroit would give him that chance. Given how things are playing out, if McDyess' goal truly was to win a title, it's becoming pretty apparent he made the wrong decision.

Simply put, the Pistons aren't playing very good basketball since trading for Allen Iverson. That's not to imply it's all Iverson's fault, but the fact of the matter is the Pistons have been average at best since Iverson's arrival. Both the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics look to be head-and-shoulders above the Pistons right now in the East. One could also make a strong argument the Orlando Magic are substantially better than Detroit, too.

Certainly there's still plenty of time for Detroit to right the ship, but with a record of 13-9, the Pistons aren't exactly striking fear into the hearts of anyone around the league. And in an ironic twist, McDyess could likely have been better positioned to win a title this year had he decided to stay with the Nuggets.

Moreover, if McDyess' goal really was to win a title, signing with the Celtics, Lakers or Cavs -- all teams that were rumored to be interested -- would have given him a much better chance. If it really was all about winning, something tells me McDyess is going to regret making the decision to return to Detroit.

Happy Trails, Cuttino

It seems like just yesterday Cuttino Mobley and Steve Francis teamed up to the form the Houston Rockets' backcourt of the future. Now, 10 years later, Mobley's career is suddenly over due to a heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. This is the same condition that took the life of former Loyola Marymount star Hank Gathers back in 1990.

Mobley was aware he had the condition when his career started and had been permitted to play by doctors in all of his previous NBA stops in Houston, Orlando, Sacramento and Los Angeles. However, when he took a physical after being traded from the LA Clippers to New York Knicks last month, tests revealed Mobley's condition had gotten worse. Simply put, had Mobley continued to play basketball his life could have been in danger.

One can only imagine all of the different emotions Mobley is experiencing right now. On one hand, the trade from the Clippers to the Knicks very well could have saved his life. On the other hand, Mobley scored 23 points on November 19th as a member of the Clippers against the Oklahoma City Thunder in what turned out to be his final game and looked to have plenty of basketball left in him.

While Mobley said he loves the game of basketball, he also said he had to think of his family first in this situation.

"Every single day just being scared for you, I think that's a selfish thing," Mobley told media in New York when thinking about his 8-year-old son. "Even though you love something so much, and I am in love with basketball, sometimes you have to get a divorce."

Covering the NBA last season out of Los Angeles, I had a chance to get to know Mobley fairly well. He was always very professional to deal with even in the midst of one of the worst season's of his career. To see the game taken away from him like this hurts. However, it would have hurt a lot more for everyone involved had Mobley's worsening condition not been discovered.

Happy trails, Cuttino. Good luck with whatever path you choose in the future.

NBA: Sunday Scoop: Pacers on the Move?

Hoopsworld — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 17:49:58 -0800

By: Joel Brigham

Bird Already Talking About Trades

Just a few games into the season, Indiana Pacers GM Larry Bird is talking about the need for his team to make moves. "We know where we're at," Bird said recently. "We've got to get better players." While they are still dangling Jamaal Tinsley hoping to get anything worthwhile in return, it's worth considering who else might be on the block in Indy.

Danny Granger, after getting a hefty extension earlier this week, clearly is the team's star moving forward as his 33 points in the team's first game helped prove. Coach Jim O'Brien reportedly has been extremely happy with his two points guards, T.J. Ford and Jarrett Jack, and the rookies Brandon Rush and Roy Hibbert aren't going anywhere.

That leaves a few notable names, including Mike Dunleavy Jr., Troy Murphy, and Marquis Daniels on the biggest expendable names on the roster. Of course, that begs the question, is there anything of value they can get out of those guys?

Gordon Actually Tried to Take the Money?

Interesting little tidbit from the Chicago Bulls regarding Ben Gordon and his sticky contract situation this past offseason. According to the Chicago Tribune, BG tried to accept a long-term offer from the Bulls—reportedly six years and about $55 million—right before signing the one-year qualifying offer instead, but the Bulls told him he waited too long and the deal was off the table.

A couple of thoughts on this: first of all, if there was a deadline set for a deal and Gordon didn't accept it by then, then that was still his own fault. He's played hardball for the last two summers looking to get big money, and to hear something got pulled at the last minute definitely raises some questions. Secondly, does this mean that Chicago really doesn't have big plans for Gordon after this season? They've started using Kirk Hinrich as their sixth man with relative success, pushing Gordon back to the team's seventh or eighth man, and that's not even considering Larry Hughes for when he returns from injury.

Gordon said, "I guess all things happen for a reason" regarding this situation, but you've got to think he's going to have a really hard time earning the money he wants this year playing so little. He no longer even has the leverage of being the team's top scorer. Derrick Rose is now that guy.

'Melo Gets a Mop Chop

Bye-Bye Cornrows. Denver's Carmelo Anthony shaved off his trademark cornrows before Saturday night's game against the Lakers, giving him a sudden stark resemblance to teammate Kenyon Martin. In any event, it'll be interesting to see if that improves his or Allen Iverson's output so far this season, because through three games neither one of those two guys has been consistently effective.

Both guys were among the top five scorers last season, but so far Iverson is 32^nd with just over 18 points a night, and Anthony scored only 13 points in his first game last night. For the record, that puts him somewhere in the 80s, right below Portland forward Travis Outlaw, Milwaukee forward Charlie Villanueva, and Sacramento rookie Jason Thompson. Is it any wonder the Nugs are 1-2?

The League's Best So Far

At the top of every division is an undefeated team, some of which already have played three games and won them all. Seeing the L.A. Lakers and New Orleans Hornets in that group shouldn't surprise anyone, but the 3-0 Toronto Raptors clearly are going to make things difficult for the rest of the Atlantic Division this season. With Chris Bosh and Jermaine O'Neal averaging a combined 37 points and 17 rebounds, they're going to be a formidable frontcourt this season if they can stay healthy.

As for the best individual players so far, it's hard to say since some players' great games skew the numbers early on, but Joe Johnson is the top scorer through his first two games, averaging 30 points. The early rebounding leaders are Elton Brand and Dwight Howard with 14.3 rpg through three contests (Tyson Chandler had 16 boards in his one appearance), and not surprisingly Chris Paul is leading in assists with 12 per game.

Does any of this really matter less than a week into the season? Maybe not, but sometimes you can see trends right away, and little in what is mentioned above is particularly surprising, meaning some guys are doing exactly what's expected of them right out of the gate.