Carmelo Anthony accused of not playing hard
Rumours of Carmelo Anthony’s impending departure from the Denver Nuggets have been rampant ever since he declined to sign a three-year contract extension with the Nuggets worth $65 million,
on the table since June. With the New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls considered his two most likely destinations, Anthony, who becomes a free-agent after this season, has been accused of not giving his full effort this year as a Nugget.
Despite averaging 25.4 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game for the 8-6 Nuggets, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith, analysts on
Inside the NBA, questioned the power forward’s effort level during a recent episode.
"Everybody wants to act like nobody knows what's going on," said Barkley. "You can't fool players. You can fool fans, because fans don't know a lot about the game. You can fool the press;
if you're nice to them they are going to write nice things about you. But the Denver Nuggets are coasting.They are not playing with energy and passion."
Barkley was then asked if Anthony’s perceived lack of effort has rubbed off on his team-mates. “100 per cent. Because those other players, they're like, 'He doesn't want to be here. He's
not going to kill himself, we're not going to kill ourselves.'"
Smith, Barkley’s colleague, agreed with his opinionated sidekick. “Guys like Carmelo Anthony, who's good enough to get 18 points in a game that he's not even engaged in and that he probably
really totally doesn't want to be there. And he can fool you to say, 'Well, he still got 18.' He can probably get 26 on a night that he's not really engaged. But those are the nights where he would have had 40.”
Anthony’s averages in all the major statistical categories are up this year compared to his career averages. His 9.2 rebounds per game are more than any other season as is his 38 per cent
shooting percentage from three-point range.
“I personally don't think Kenny and Charles watch all of our games,” said Denver coach George Karl. “I don't think they're staying up and watching Melo play."
In 14 games so far this season, Anthony has scored at least 20 points in 12 of them and has scored at least 30 in four games.
"I think they might be the only two people that say I don't play hard," said Anthony of Barkley and Smith. "How can you say that? I go out there hard every night. But I don't pay those guys
no mind. I know what I'm doing. Everybody sees what I'm doing. I come out and play as hard as I can every night.”
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