Carmelo Anthony strongly believes that the New York Knicks are going to be a lot better this season than most people think.
The Knicks were one of the worst teams in the NBA last year, finishing with a franchise-worst record of 17-65. On paper, they haven’t done a whole lot to improve. That’s why some projections have them finishing with around 20 wins this season, whereas others — like FiveThirtyEight.com — are willing to bump New York’s win total up to 27.
If you believe the Knicks are going to win less than 30 games, Anthony thinks you’re a joke.
“I think we will be better than people predict,” Carmelo said Tuesday, per Marc Berman of the New York Post. “If you’re predicting 27 wins, I laugh at that. We use that as kind of motivation. But it’s a good thing to be under the radar.”
Things can change rather quickly in the NBA, where it is not all that difficult to make the playoffs. Just three years ago, the Knicks were a 54-win team that won a playoff series. If anyone can turn a team around quickly, it’s Phil Jackson.
That said, Anthony is 31 and needs both health and more help around him to play at a high level consistently. It’s unclear if he will have either of those this season, which is why NBA general managers did not vote him as a top-six MVP candidate or a top player at his position in their annual survey.
“I don’t care about that. It will be [a big year] — for sure it will be,” Anthony said of the survey. “I think they go off what they saw last. For me, I know where I stand in this league. For somebody else to say what I am or not, that’s way beyond me.
“Nobody cares what kind of year you had if you’re on a losing team. Regardless of if I average 30 [points] and we win 30-something games, it will still be a down year all the way around. Nobody cares about that. Everybody goes back to the 54-win season when we had a good team and were winning and everybody gets the pub and the shine.”
There is some concern that the Knicks reached with their first-round draft pick, so that will be something to watch. It’s also a bit disturbing that the team’s head coach was wrapped up in some crazy drama recently. But, as we know, the games are won and lost on the court. Anthony is apparently confident the Knicks will do more of the former.
