Boeheim doubts Melo will ever win an NBA title
Jim Boeheim sure does have a lot of opinions about a guy he coached for one year.
The legendary Syracuse coach has really never been shy when it comes to talking about Melo. He only coached him for one year at Syracuse, but their repeated exposure to each other at team USA seems to have Boeheim ready to speak on Melo at a moment’s notice. The latest quote comes from ESPN’s Ian Begley:
"“He’s unlikely to win an NBA title,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said, according to the Syracuse Post-Standard. “He’s never been on a team that even had a remote chance of winning an NBA title.”"
Putting aside the fact that most people on Earth are “unlikely to win an NBA title”, these statements, in all honesty, are both absurd. There are grains of truth within them, but important points are being missed.
Carmelo Anthony is 32 years old. He is in the back end of his prime, for sure. However, he is nowhere near done as a player. Melo could easily contribute to a team at an elite level for another 2-3 years, because his game will age very well. It’s not based on incredible athleticism or warp speed; Melo is closer to a Paul Pierce type, and his jumper and combo-forward role will continue to provide him plenty of opportunities to excel as he ages. He could be a solid role player for the 4-five seasons following his decline from elite.
That gives Melo eight more years to win a title. The chance for him to win a title as an Alpha Dog, however, is likely over in the next 2-3 seasons, and that’s likely what Boeheim really means. Melo will never want to cede his leadership role to Porzingis, but he will have to — especially if he wants to win titles in his twilight. So are the Knicks going to win a title with Melo as the lead player in the next two or three years? Probably not, and in that sense, Jim is right. But the idea that Melo might never shift to another team to chase rings, or that he might not ever have another shot to earn one in his late career is foolish. We simply can’t predict the NBA for the next eight years; there could and most likely will be chances.
The second statement is also untrue, but to a lesser extent. The 2008-09 Nuggets had a lot more than a “remote” chance at winning an NBA title, as the addition of Chauncey Billups made the Nuggets a 54-win team. The Western Conference Finals were 4-2 in favor of the Lakers, but were much closer than that.
Games 1 and 3 were decided in the final moments, while the Nuggets took Game 2. The Lakers were the better team, but the Nuggets were a pair of mistakes away from being in position to pull off the upset and move on to the NBA Finals against an Orlando Magic team that provided a good, but not overwhelming match-up. The chances weren’t remote, they were solid — it just didn’t work out that way.
Carmelo Anthony is a talented player. He seems to have become underrated due to the Knicks failures. He also seems like he has relegated himself to the idea that he will never win a title. The constant questioning of his NBA resume but lauding of his Olympic resume even has him saying, essentially, “I can be great without winning in the NBA,” as if even he himself has given up hope that the Knicks or any other team he may end up with could hoist a trophy.
Hopefully not – there is still plenty of time and opportunity for an All-Time NBA great to get a ring. Maybe his college coach should be talking about that.