Carmelo Anthony lost weight for New York Knicks’ ‘triangle’
By Bryan Rose
By now you’ve likely seen a much svelter Carmelo Anthony as the New York Knicks small forward removed most of his famed ‘baby fat’ in an effort to trim down this offseason. He’s certainly not the only NBA player to make such a move as LeBron James also decided to shed some pounds, which has seemingly become all the rage.
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So what was the reasoning behind Carmelo Anthony’s weight loss? Was it simply for his own benefit? Not exactly.
While a much leaner Carmelo Anthony will certainly help the former Syracuse star from tiring out or putting extra wear and tear on his knees, the All-Star decided to drop pounds in effort to be a facilitator in the New York Knicks’ new triangle offense.
“He wants to be as athletic as he was when he was a rookie,’’ says The Post. “Plus he wants to be a facilitator in the triangle and speed will help that.’’
In the past, Carmelo Anthony has spent a great deal of his time on the offensive end in the paint, often backing down smaller players in the paint. However, in the triangle it’s likely he’ll find himself playing on the perimeter more and the extra bulk simply won’t be needed. That’s not to say he’ll spend all of time out there and posting up is completely out of the option, though it won’t be one of his main weapons like it has been in the past.
Hard to expect a better offensive season from Carmelo Anthony, but his new role and more physically toned appearance will likely breed such.