Carmelo Anthony believes the Linsanity era is where the ‘selfish’ accusations started – Was it really? NBA Opinion
Even though Carmelo Anthony has been playing some excellent basketball for team USA in this year’s London Olympics and may have caused some people to change their opinions regarding him being selfish, but the accusation still lingers in the player’s mind and was something that made him quite angry and restless a few months back.
The Knicks star forward is still stuck on the departure of Jeremy Lin and believes the Linsanity era to be the point where the selfish accusations started.
“Let’s be frank about it,” Anthony said recently. “When it comes to the Knicks, we’re talking about one particular point in time. We’re talking about the whole ‘Linsanity’ thing. That’s when it started. That’s when it started to escalate as far as people saying I was selfish.”
“Lin came and we started winning games and then we started losing games, and they could only point to one thing, which is me, the leader of the team,” Anthony added. “They’re not going to point to Amar’e. They’re not going to point to (guard) Iman Shumpert. They’re going to point to me. I accept that. It doesn’t bother me.”
Melo was off course not fully responsible for the mid season slump Knicks went through last season, but that is just the side effect of being the face of the franchise. Kobe Bryant has faced such criticism in the past, LeBron James goes through it, and if Anthony wants to be any way near the two, he will have to develop some patience.
He is wrong in blaming Lin for the ‘selfish’ talk, because it is something that has stuck with him throughout his career. These accusations can be traced back to his time with the Denver Nuggets, his former club. Despite making the Nuggets into a playoff contender and taking them into the Western Conference Finals once, Anthony has been known for handling the ball too much and taking shots even when the percentage is low.
If Melo wants to be a winner, he has to learn the art of making his team mates look better by giving them more opportunities to score. As the facts stand, the scenario has been completely opposite ever since his arrival at the Big Apple – case in point the dip in performance of Amare Stoudemire.
When James won the championship with Miami Heat last season, Anthony had said that his time for glory will come soon, but the truth is, it will only come once Melo learns how to be a better team player. He could certainly learn a point or two from LeBron.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article do not represent Bettor.com’s editorial policy.
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