Kristaps Porzingis has one request from Knicks fans upon Carmelo Anthony’s return.
The Oklahoma City Thunder will be at the mecca of basketball on Friday night. That means back-to-back homecoming games for players on the Thunder roster. First it was Paul George in Indiana on Wednesday, and now Carmelo Anthony is returning to the Garden for the first time since his trade this past offseason.
Things did not end well between the Knicks and Anthony, but it paved the way for Porzingis to run the show in New York. Seeing as he’s now the star of the team, he gets to make the requests. Porzingis thinks that Knicks fans should show Anthony “love” when he returns to the Garden, according to ESPN.
Porzingis cited that Melo was as professional as he could possibly be during his time in New York. He’s right because as dysfunctional as that franchise was it had to be hard for him to answer every question night in and night out.
Anthony gave the Knicks seven great years after forcing his way out of Denver. He even added a scoring title to his already stellar career, in the 2012-13 season. Even though the chemistry between Porzingis and Anthony never really worked out, it was probably a good thing that Melo ended up leaving. Porzingis is now excelling in his star role.
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As for Melo, he’s struggling to find his role in Oklahoma City. He’s been open about doing whatever it takes to help the team win, but there’s a difference between saying it and actually doing it. He’s averaging a career-low in points, he’s under 80 percent from the line for the first time in his career and his shooting percentage is also at a career-low.
Luckily for Melo he’s a veteran and a bonafide scorer so there’s little doubt he can get back on track shooting the ball. It also helps that he’s playing with two other All-Star’s. If there was ever a night for him to get on track it would be Friday night in the Garden.