Carmelo Anthony 'pretty sure' he will play power forward
This one shouldn't be too shocking for anyone who has been following the Knicks offseason closely. Here's confirmation on Carmelo Anthony's positional thoughts for the upcoming season, via ESPN's Ian Begley:
Carmelo Anthony said he expects to play some power forward this season. Anthony said the Knicks may use him there to take advantage of a matchup on a given night, but it sounds as if he’ll vacillate between small forward and power forward.
"I’m pretty sure I’ll be at the 4; especially with the makeup of this team, I’m pretty sure I’ll be there," he said. ".... The way that the game is going now those are the same positions. It really doesn’t matter at this point."
Phil Jackson said Friday that the Knicks may play Anthony at power forward when new center Robin Lopez is on the floor.
It’s worth pointing out that the Knicks had success with Anthony playing power forward last season. They were nearly 13 points better per 48 minutes with Anthony at power forward in 2014-15. But Anthony played there sparingly.
The Knicks offense has looked best during the Melo Era with their best player at the 4. Most stars (from LeBron James to LaMarcus Aldridge) dislike playing a position down. Anthony is no exception to that. But it might be necessary for this team.
Speaking of Aldridge, this whole thing comes back to him. The Knicks sort of gave away their plans for playing Melo at the 4 when they let Aldridge walk, didn't they? Supposedly, New York wanted Aldridge to be flexible enough to play the 5. He didn't prefer that strategy, and a deal wasn't worked out (for other reasons, too).
But why would the Knicks not want Aldridge locked into the 4? Probably because they want that position free for Melo to operate.
Look at how this team worked its offseason signings. It brought in a starting 2 in Arron Afflalo and starting 5 in Brook Lopez. It is welcoming back the injured Anthony and Jose Calderon. And then it got solid backup bigs, but not starting caliber ones, to play the 4 in Kyle O'Quinn and Derrick Williams.
It's almost like those guys are placeholders. Anthony playing the 4 should persist throughout the year, and if the Knicks get off to a nice start with Melo at power forward, it's going to stick for a long, long time.
