It’s truly amazing to see how the excitement surrounding Carmelo Anthony’s trade to the Knicks has died down. We went from this guy being the lead subject in trade rumors the entire season and having New York engulfed in “Melo Mania” to fans already complaining. Perhaps the disappointment exists because the Knicks now have a losing record since acquiring Melo, having gone 7-8 including losing five of six since the trade. The hype built up during the trade announcement and that was validated in a win over Miami is now gone.
Carmelo Anthony didn’t speak to the media after Friday’s loss to Detroit in which he went 2-12 for just six points. He told reporters he cleared the air with teammates at their hotel on Saturday, saying “I got a chance to talk to coach and the guys. Letting them know, don’t be used to me getting frustrated out there. All around it was just a bad day, us losing. The way we lost. That stuff is frustrating.”
The positive feelings from Melo’s apology were short-lived because the Knicks lost to the Bucks by five Sunday. Apparently former Knicks forward Latrell Sprewell was on hand at the Bradley Center for the game and got a positive reception from the fans. And as the NY Post put it, he upstaged Melo “When Anthony went to the free-throw line in the third quarter, the fans chanted “Sprewell’s better.” Yikes!
I understand this was a road game, but it really is amazing to see how things are unraveling. I still believe the Knicks will be a dangerous team in the first round of the playoffs and that they’ll be peaking in two seasons, but in New York there is no patience. The pressure is on to perform now, and at the moment broke Latrell Sprewell is a more popular figure than Melo. That’s sad.
