Pity, empathy and learning to root for Carmelo Anthony

When Carmelo Anthony was taken third overall in the 2003 NBA Draft, I was five, soon-to-be-six. So quite frankly, I didn’t have an opinion on him. I didn’t have an opinion on much back then, just that Bionicles were the coolest thing since sliced bread.

But as I got older, I started to love basketball more, which meant I watched it more. Most importantly, I watched it with my Dad who had been covering the NBA since 1996 and had just started to get into coaching. He was in the “LeBron James is better camp” even after Anthony won the NCAA title in his one year at Syracuse.

Whenever we watched Anthony on TV, my Dad complained about how he was a ball-stopper, an inefficient volume-scorer and a lazy defender. Since I was young, I just adapted my Dad’s opinions on Anthony. He became one of my least favorite players, and although I continued to root against him, he accomplished plenty which cut against my prejudices. For starters, Anthony made the playoffs his rookie season and James didn’t. He continued to make the playoffs for the next five seasons. He only managed to win three playoff games total in those five post-season appearances, but it certainly wasn’t for lack of trying.

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In the 2006 season, we started to see the potential Anthony had as a playoff performer. The Nuggets earned the three seed in the Western Conference by winning their division. While they lost to the Clippers in five games, Anthony led the Nuggets in scoring in all five games of that series. After losing in the first round in the following two seasons, the Nuggets realized Allen Iverson wasn’t The Answer to their problems, so they went out and found a new answer by trading him to the Pistons for Chauncey Billups. Now the Nuggets had a team that truly gave Anthony the opportunity to thrive in the playoffs. They won 54 games that season and finished as the second seed in the Western Conference.

They beat the Hornets in five games in the first round, and Anthony dropped 34 to close out the series in Game 5. The Nuggets went on to beat the Mavericks in five games in the Western Conference Semifinals and Anthony and Billups combined for 58 points to overpower Dirk Nowitzki’s game-high of 32 in the closing game. The season was the defining campaign of Anthony’s career to that point and Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle even said so at the end of the series when he stated Anthony was, “taking quantum leaps as a great player and leader.”

In the ensuing Conference Finals, Anthony’s playoff ability truly shined as he went head to head with Kobe Bryant. He averaged 27.5 points per game for the series. He dropped 39 points in Game 1 and then 34 points in the Nuggets’ Game 2 victory, which stole home court. But in Game 3, Anthony disappeared in the second half, only scoring three points and the Lakers got home court advantage back.

In Game 4, Anthony had health issues — a sore ankle and he needed to be hooked up to IV’s at halftime. Although he only scored 15 points, his teammates had his back and won the game. The opportunity was there with the series tied at 2-2 but the Nuggets didn’t capitalize. Even with Anthony leading the team in scoring in Games 5 and 6, with 31 points and 25 points respectively, the Nuggets lost both games and their season ended there.

In the 2010 playoffs, Anthony and the Nuggets lost in the first round again. With only one deep postseason run in seven seasons with the Nuggets, it was clear that these two were not meant for each other. Anthony was traded to the New York Knicks around the trade deadline of the 2010-11 season and as a Sixers fan, rivalry gave me another reason to root against him. It piled on with all the others from before (being inefficient, a lazy defender, etc.). My criticisms continued through his first two postseasons with the Knicks when they only won one playoff game in that time.

But it was the next season — Anthony’s best as a Knick — where my opinion on him started to change just a little bit. The Knicks finished 54-28 and were the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Although I didn’t enjoy watching them be successful, I got to enjoy watching them beat the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs and effectively put an end to the Big Three Era in Boston. Then the Knicks lost in the next round to the Pacers. It was perfect. One playoff series win to put an end to the Celtics dominance and that’s it.

But as I look back on it now, I realize why that really was the season where I should’ve started to root for him to succeed. Anthony averaged 28.8 points per game in that playoff run alongside 6.6 rebounds per game, cementing his status as a great playoff performer.

The pieces were there for Anthony and the Knicks to become a fantastic love story in the NBA. But sadly, that love story never came. Injuries continued to arrive for the Knicks in the following season. With a significant drop-off in team performance compared to last year, the Knicks retooled their front office. As a result, the main reason why I started to root for Anthony arrived in New York in 2014: Phil Jackson became the Knicks President of Basketball Operations, a job that he’s had for almost three years now and he is still in way over his head.

Here are the good things Jackson has done since joining the Knicks: Draft Kristaps Porzingis, sign Mindaugas Kuzminskas and eat some good New York Pizza, probably.

Here are the bad things Jackson has done since joining the Knicks: Hire and then fire Derek Fisher, audition Kurt Rambis for the head coaching job (his excuse for this was probably that it was his absolute right to do this), hire Jeff Hornaceck, but continue to run the triangle offense, sign Anthony to a five-year max deal, but continue to run the triangle offense, give Anthony a no-trade clause in that deal, and continue to run the triangle offense, sign Joakim Noah to the worst contract in the NBA, and continue to run the triangle offense, trade for Derrick Rose, and continue to run the triangle offense, continue to run the triangle offense, and eat some national chain trash pizza in New York and continue to run the triangle offense.

The Knicks have no direction. Jackson made moves that clearly singled an intent to win now, but the moves led to losing now instead. And those moves might not stop at losing now, they might lead to losing forever.

Jackson hasn’t just trashed the Knicks, he’s trashed Anthony as well. Back in April, he told the media that he think Anthony and the Knicks would be better off going their separate ways. “We have not been able to win with him on the court at this time and I think the direction with our team is that he is a player that would be better off somewhere else and using his talent somewhere he can win or chase that championship,” Jackson said.

The nerve Jackson has to blame the Knicks shortcomings on Anthony, even though Rose disappeared randomly in the middle of the season and Noah got suspended for failing a drug test. He’s also clearly suggesting it’s time to trade Anthony, but HE GAVE ANTHONY A NO-TRADE CLAUSE. He also went on to say in that press conference that he doesn’t think his treatment of Anthony will affect the opportunities the Knicks have in free agency. Those comments about Anthony also hurt his trade value. What irony.

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Anthony doesn’t deserve this for his last few years as a force in the NBA. He deserves to play for a contender, a team where he’ll be valued on the court by his teammates, his fans and his teams front office. That’s what I’m rooting for Anthony to get. Just a few more good years as he comes to the end of his NBA career and maybe get one more playoff run.

I used to look at Anthony and just see flaws. But the more Phil Jackson and the rest of the basketball world points out those flaws, the more I want to focus on the rest of Carmelo Anthony, the basketball player.