SB Nation's Bomani Jones watched the New York Knicks get thrashed by the Miami Heat Thursday night, and came away asking not about Jeremy Lin, but about Carmelo Anthony. Jones put together an excellent post titled 'What Are the Knicks Going To Do About Carmelo Anthony?'
Jones takes a look at Anthony and determines that in some ways, before and after Linsanity, Anthony is not the same player he was in Denver. Jones is right when he says that Anthony is "still the man who will have to carry the Knicks if they want to get to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in 12 years."
How worried should the Knicks be at this point, having gone 1-2 since Anthony re-joined the team after missing more than two weeks -- and most of the Linsanity phase -- with various injuries.
Before Thursday's game against Miami, Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni joined ESPN Radio in New York on the Michael Kay Show and discussed fitting Lin, Anthony and the rest of his talented squad together on the fly.
"It is a challenge and it is a challenge for the players. If we just hold in there and not listen to the pressure from the outside, just keep making advances, and keep trying to get better we will be okay. We just have to continue to play hard, keep our energy level up, and keep our confidence as well as we can," D'Antoni told Kay.
Asked if Anthony can co-exist with Lin -- which Jones correctly points out should be an absurd question based on their pedigrees -- D'Antoni said "sure he can."
"We will figure this out and ‘Melo is going to be a big part of this as is Amar'e as is everybody else. We have a lot of talent here and it goes all the way down to the end of the bench and we just have to have everybody buying in," D'Antoni said.
I would caution Knicks fans not to over-react to the Miami loss. Lin was bound to come crashing back to earth at some point, and what level he rebounds to will be interesting to see. Still, he brings an element to the Knicks they didn't have -- a creative point guard who can break down defenses and create shots for his teammates.
As for Anthony let's remember that he has had only three games to get his groove back following his absence. His rhythm will come, and the Knicks comfort level with each other will also improve as the season goes along.
Today might not be a good day, but it isn't time to panic.