The NBA is a tattoo dressed up in a three-piece suit. I love this game. The phoniness drives me nuts.
Maybe Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony is too real to be an all-star in this league.
“I ain’t doing no more interviews,” Anthony said Tuesday, with mock petulance. “Check back with me in 2008.”
Then he burst out laughing, making fun of his weak imitation of a basketball prima donna.
You want 40 points in any given game? Melo can do it.
You want a heavy dose of plastic personality from a pampered millionaire? That’s impossible for Anthony.
I can give you only one reason why Melo, averaging almost 30 points per game since Dec. 1 while keeping the Nuggets in playoff contention, might not earn his first trip to the All-Star Game.
Anthony might be the last big name in the NBA who’s unafraid to be himself.
What in the name of Charles Barkley has happened to pro hoops, now more crowded with spin doctors than a clown car full of Hollywood publicists?
We mention this development because Cleveland
megastar LeBron James and his entourage are playing Denver for one night only.
James is an awesome talent. And a good man. Too bad he’s all covered in corporate logos, shadowed by handlers and constantly must live with the strings of fame attached. At times, it’s hard to tell whether James is campaigning for MVP of the league or King of Nike.
In any discussion that begins with King James, mention of Melo comes in a distant second.
Quite frankly, Anthony is sick and tired of it.
“I’m tired of being compared to LeBron James. I realize I’m going to hear it for the rest of my life. But it gets old,” he said. “I’m my own guy.”
Can’t say that I blame Anthony.
“The first year we came in the league, everybody wanted to talk about me and LeBron. Last year, early in the season, I guess people thought I took a step backward compared to him. But, this year, I’ve taken my game up a couple notches. And I think I’ve established myself as being the type of player who can stand on his own.”
At age 21, Anthony has grown up to be the man in Denver.
So why hasn’t anybody in the NBA noticed?
The stale, year-old news of what’s in Melo’s backpack has not been replaced with buzz about how Anthony has strapped a broken-down Nuggets team on his back.
Already this season, Anthony has scored 35 or more points eight times. Denver’s record is 6-2 when he does.
“That’s what I love about what Melo is doing. He’s doing it with respect of our team, within the framework, with efficiency,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “I think his development has been spectacular because it’s kind of lifted the team. It hasn’t drained the team.”
But with polls for the All-Star Game closing this weekend, the hot candidates to play forward for the Western Conference are Tracy McGrady, Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki, Elton Brand, Shawn Marion and Pau Gasol.
Can’t argue with any of those names, with one notable exception: Gasol.
Show me one NBA coach who claims he would rather have Gasol than Melo on his team, and I’ll show you a fool or a liar.
What strikes me most about the newfound maturity in Anthony’s game is how he now strikes fear in defenders. Small forward no longer does him justice. Baby fat replaced with broader shoulders, Melo has become one of the more physical players at his position in the league.
“I like the fact he’s not just settling for the jump shot on the perimeter. He’s done a heck of a job getting to the free-throw line,” Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. “He’s driving and hitting bodies and finishing strong.”
For a player who won a national title in college and gave a hopeless NBA franchise reason to believe, Anthony has been defined too often by what he is not.
Using James as a reference point no longer does him justice.
Melo has grown into his own man.
Watch Mark Kiszla during “Classic Now” on ESPN Classic. He can be reached at 303-820-5438 or mkiszla@denverpost.com.
