Carmelo Anthony takes the heat for all of the teams misfortunes since being traded to the Knicks. Can he play with A'mare? Can he fit the D'antoni system? Can he pass or play defense? Is he really Jeremy Lin's father? Its pretty much unfair but that's New York and pretty much the main reason Patrick Ewing was the hard ass he was towards the media. When it comes down to it, you play basketball. Watching the Olympics you realize how good Carmelo really is. He's on par scoring wise with the two big dogs Lebron and Durant. He's a great teamate and he is a willing teacher as proven in the video footage of him schooling Blake Griffin. My theory is you can't ask Melo to do much more than that. Can he do much more? Yes and he does, but the root if his game can't change because that's when you run into problems.
This is where A'mare comes into play. A'mare is a man that likes to think he its an alpha male. He wants to be the best. He gave himself the nickname Stat. He went out of guys way to show he had Jewish roots. He wants to be seen and he wants to be great. Problem is he is not great. He is a one trick pony with a history of injury. His success rest on the shoulders if his coach and point guard. He's always been a pick and roll player. If he's not receiving the ball in a high percentage area he is useless. His jumpshot, rebounding and defensive abilities are directly related to him getting successful oppotuitues in the pick and roll. Glen Grunwald went out and got A'mare 3 proven point guards in Raymond Felton, Jason Kidd, and Pablo Prigioni. The best gift of all is the challenge his new head coach Mike Woodson presented him. He said A'mare needed to develop a back to the basket game. He prescribed Hakeem the Dream as the remedy. Mike Woodson said the ball will go back inside...essentially that is where it belongs.
Ewing was the last true post presence the knicks have had. Why did Ewing fail to win a championship in New York? It wasnt because he missed a finger roll, got hurt at the wrong time, or the victim of the NBA's leaving the bench rule. It was because in his prime, he never had a guy to give him a break from the scoring load. Bernard King wasn't allowed to prove he can still produce as a Knick. Its one of the a great what ifs in franchise history. Thing is now, history has seemed to come full circle. A'mare in fact needs to assume his role as Patrick Ewing. He already has his Bernard King in Carmelo Anthony. He also has his Charles Oakley sidekick in Tyson Chandler. The stage is set to receive the greatness he desires. The pressure should be on his shoulders to put everything in place because everything should start and end with him.
So we have a Dream. Can A'mare not only learn, but master some post moves to get everything going? In comparison Lebron James took what he learned from Hakim and raised his game to the next level. At the same time, Dwight Howard had the same teachings and applied nothing to his game. In my opinion, A'mare needs a drop step, a spin move with either hand, some pivot moves and Ewings patented fall away after driving across the lane. Can it be done? A'mare is already a gym rat. Could be the biggest offseadon of guys career....and it really needs to be. The knicks time is now.
