The Knicks have won six games in a row since Jeremy Lin began playing significant minutes. Four of those wins were without Amar’e Stoudemire who was grieving the loss of his brother. Five of those wins came essentially without Carmelo Anthony (he played six minutes in a win over the Jazz). Because of the team’s success without him, there are a lot of people wondering if the team will continue winning when Melo returns. Melo responded to the critics Wednesday, particularly the ones who call him a selfish player.
“That’s like a slap in the face. I’ve never been a selfish player,” Anthony insisted during an interview on ESPN. “None of my teammates that I’ve ever played with said I was a selfish player, nobody.
Carmelo says the selfish label bothers him.
“I’m human at the end of the day so it’s like ‘Damn, where is that coming from?’ I know I’m not a selfish player.The people around me know I’m not a selfish player. I do everything I can to try to make people understand I’m not a selfish player.
He also thinks Linsanity can continue.
“I believe so,” Anthony said when asked if he thinks Jeremy Lin can keep it up. “Right now he’s playing out of his mind, completely out of his mind. When I come back I think I can take some of that pressure off of him.”
Carmelo has been labeled as the reason for the Knicks’ struggles considering how much the team traded to Denver to get him. We’ve seen since last season that he isn’t a good fit in Mike D’Antoni’s offense. But with a good point guard running the show, will he fit in now? That remains to be seen. One thing’s for sure, Melo will do everything possible to show people he’s not selfish.
