Carmelo Anthony expects to play small forward this season

Carmelo Anthony returned to New York this season but the question is what position will he play in Phil Jackson and Derek Fisher’s triangle scheme?

In the last season and a half, Carmelo Anthony has made a living by playing power forward. Using his speed and size, Anthony was able to abuse mismatches while positioning himself closer to the basket.

With a new regiment in place and added depth to the frontcourt, it looks like Anthony has little want to continue battling down low as he sees himself picking up majority of his minutes as the small forward under Derek Fisher.

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From ESPN New York:

"After playing a good deal of power forward — and excelling at that position — over the past two seasons, Anthony thinks he will be mostly a small forward this season.“We got too many,” Anthony said of power forwards on the roster. “I don’t need to go down there and battle. For what?”“If it comes down to it, I’ll go back there,” Anthony added. “But I doubt it. They’re going to move me. We’re pretty packed at four and five positions.”"

That depth Anthony speaks of? As of now, the Knicks employ Andrea Bargnani, Amar’e Stoudemire, Jason Smith, Cole Aldrich, and Samuel Dalembert, all players who could swap back and forth between power forward and center.

Of the above mentioned players, none are world beaters, but Fisher has enough players to sustain a consistent power forward rotation without need Anthony. And with all of the mentioned players outside of Dalembert able to spread the floor in some kind of way, Anthony being at small forward won’t keep him from battling in the low-post, an area he’s thrived in lately.

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