Carmelancholy

I'm thrilled the Knicks traded for Chauncey Billups. This is a guy who understands what it takes to win basketball games. He knows that his ppg average is not the sole arbiter of a winning basketball team. Then there's Carmelo Anthony.

Even just one of three things would make me happier about the Knicks acquisition of Carmelo.
1) If he passed the fucking ball to the open man once in a while,
2) If he played a modicum of defense,
3) If he turned out to be a secret Jew like Amar'e.

In his first two games as a Knicks, Carmelo has shot 19-47 from the field for a 1950s-like 40.4%. In those two games, he has all of four assists. He's shooting 45% from the field this season. Wait, I thought he was a good post player, how is he shooting so poorly? Is it because he'd rather take a tough shot than pass to an open teammate with a better shooting percentage? Yes.

For now I'll take a wait and see approach. But there's been a lot of talk about whether or not pairing two superstars makes for a title-contending team. It depends on the players. LeBron doesn't mind deferring to Wade. Wade will pass to LeBron if he has to. When Carmelo was teamed with Iverson, neither wanted to pass to the other and the Nuggets never made it out of the first round with the duo.

If Carmelo learns to be unselfish, the Knicks will win. If not, my Mays will be a lot less nerve-wracking.