Andrew Theodorakis/New York Daily News
Carmelo Anthony knows he needs help. LeBron James has it in Miami, Kevin Durant has Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City and Chris Paul has Blake Griffin in Los Angeles.
It was Carmelo Anthony’s better half who skillfully hijacked Super Bowl week in New York by declaring on Monday, “I definitely think” her famous husband will re-sign with the Knicks.
Never let it be said that La La Anthony doesn’t know the value of a good marketing opportunity. With the national sports media descending on Gotham, Mrs. Anthony seized the moment to promote her new book about love, sex and a big, um, contract extension.
With just one interview on Bravo TV, La La intercepted Peyton Manning and burned Richard Sherman. Bravo, indeed.
“That’s my wife,” Carmelo said following the Knicks’ convincing 114-88 victory over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday. “I support her. I don’t think she said anything wrong. I think that’s a good thing… and go buy the book.”
It’s too early to tell if La La’s “The Love Playbook” becomes a best-seller just as it’s far too early to say definitively that Carmelo re-ups for five more seasons of Madison Square Garden drama. What La La says on a slow news day in January and what Carmelo does on a hot July afternoon in the middle of free agency may be entirely different. The smart money says that Anthony will take the big money; the Knicks can offer $ 30 million more than the competition. But if you take Carmelo at his word that LeBron James was smart to take less to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, well then the Knicks should be worried. Kobe Bryant and the Lakers and would be in play as would Derrick Rose and Tom Thibodeau in Chicago despite Anthony shooting down the latter on Tuesday.
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The problem, and there is no other way around it, is that while Anthony clearly has a talented better half at home, he doesn’t have one in the locker room. And somehow James Dolan has to convince Anthony that he will land a legitimate second star.
Patrick Ewing never had one, and history is repeating itself with Anthony as the lone star in a league driven by superstar talent.
The Knicks improved to 18-27 against the lottery-bound Celtics, and following games this week against Cleveland and Miami, Mike Woodson’s team will have played seven more home games than road games.
Andrew Theodorakis/New York Daily News
The Celtics are rebuilding while the Knicks are scrambling to placate a skeptical Carmelo Anthony.
Things could deteriorate quickly, especially when the Knicks never seem to stay healthy. Iman Shumpert left in the first quarter with a shoulder injury while Kenyon Martin tweaked his ankle and Tyson Chandler hurt his foot. The Knicks are a fragile group, which is one reason why Anthony was down in the dumps for a couple of weeks before detonating for a Garden-record 62 points last week.
He’s playing on an island, and we’re not talking about Manhattan. Anthony knows he needs help. James has it in Miami, Kevin Durant has Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City and Chris Paul has Blake Griffin in Los Angeles.
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The Knicks’ plan — yes, there actually is one — has been to pry either Kevin Love from Minnesota or Rajon Rondo from Boston. Love could be destined for Los Angeles while Rondo could be available for the taking.
The Celtics are rebuilding while the Knicks are scrambling to placate a skeptical Anthony. Whether or not the Knicks have the assets is one issue. But a deal for Rondo should come with a warning label.
Rondo is nowhere near the same player who won an NBA title and made the All-Star team. He’s missed nearly a full season while recovering from knee surgery. The Celtics have lost all six games he has played since his return, and he’s been below standard, which is to be expected.
However, there is no guarantee he ever returns to form. Westbrook never missed a high school, college or NBA game until suffering a knee injury in Game 1 of the playoffs last April. Since then he’s had three knee surgeries with the most recent one coming after he torched the Knicks on Christmas Day.
Rose has had issues with both knees and will miss essentially a second straight season. The Bulls are confident he will be back for the start of 2014-15 season, but whether he’s ever an MVP candidate again is probably asking for too much.
Rose, Westbrook and Rondo all rely on their athleticism to create plays for themselves and their teammates. If they lose a step, it makes them all the more ineffective. Celtics GM Danny Ainge has already approached Rondo about an extension, but that could be just lip service. Just like La La’s comments about her husband don’t mean much as well. As long as Anthony remains non-committal, all the talk this week should just fall under the category of Super Bowl hype.
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