Carmelo Anthony served a 15-game suspension last season, and it might have served his body well.
All the basketball the Nuggets star has played since 2004 has taken its toll, and how he deals with it remains to be seen.
Anthony hasn’t had much of a break from basketball for two years, counting the regular seasons and time spent playing for USA Basketball at the world championships and Olympic qualifying tournament. He’ll add a third straight year of summer basketball as a member of the 2008 Olympic team in Beijing.
“I get tired sometimes,” Anthony said last week. “I’m tired right now, I can tell you that. … I’m just trying to pace myself and get my body back right.”
He spoke with a slight smile, but with an acute awareness of what’s going on now, and what he wants to have happen in the future. At 23 and in his fifth season in the NBA, his youth suggests none of this matters much. Young legs don’t wear down as easily, or quickly. Nuggets coach George Karl subscribes to the “more basketball is better” theory.
“I think there’s more benefit to playing more basketball than less benefit,” Karl said.
But Karl also knows what side the Nuggets are buttered on – Anthony’s. If they are to achieve their championship dreams, a healthy Anthony has to be on the court for most, if not all, of the season and postseason.
Karl admits he will keep a keen eye on his superstar.
“There are times, and there are situations where there’s a burnout or a meltdown a little bit, mentally,” Karl said. “I think Melo is not even close to that, but we’re going to be aware of that. And we will monitor and talk to him about it.”
The first step? Limiting Anthony’s participation in preseason games. Anthony, who played 24 minutes in the exhibition opener, will not play in all of them.
The Nuggets play today in Detroit, Tuesday in Green Bay, Wis., against Milwaukee and Wednesday in Grand Rapids, Mich., against the Pistons. Karl described the impending rotation to be “probably two off, or one on and two off, something like that. I don’t know yet.”
The NBA and the NHL are unique in that their players participate in competitions outside of their own, and that has proven hazardous for some.
After the 2006 world basketball championships, some NBA players sustained injuries that were in part blamed on not having a full offseason. Miami’s Dwyane Wade had a wrist injury and Sacramento’s Brad Miller a foot injury that never allowed him to play his best in the 2006-07 NBA season. Toronto forward/center Chris Bosh came down with a sore knee and, in a Washington Post article, blamed it on playing in the summer.
“I’m not going to lie, it affected me,” Bosh said. “It’s going to affect the body because I’m not used to playing like that all summer, and at that intensity.”
Anthony, however, came out of the world championships and had his best season with the Nuggets. His suspension after a December scuffle with the Knicks gave him a month to help recover from early-season bumps and bruises.
Still, Anthony isn’t going to worry about it.
“If it’s your time to get hurt,” Anthony said, “it’s your time to get hurt.”
Karl requested that Anthony start the first 12 days of training camp with as much effort as he could muster.
Anthony laughed when talking about that period, which came to a close Saturday, but insisted if he’s in a gym, he wants to play, no matter what.
“I told Coach, ‘You’re going to have to kick me out the gym,’ because I love to be on the court,” Anthony said. “I haven’t missed a practice since probably my rookie season. So that says a lot. I still got about two more weeks to get right before the first game. We shall see. I hope I don’t hit a wall.
“I’m not going to try to overdo it. I had a long summer. So, I don’t want to overdo it and not be ready when the ball tips off on the 31st.”
Or at any point after.
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
