Final seconds, Nuggets down and desperate for a hoop. So who gets the rock?
What, you mean other than Carmelo Anthony?
He got the ball, all right. And he scored the winning hoop with 12 seconds to play Friday night at Dallas. I remember because I was stifling a yawn as he did it.
He’s one of the great clutch players in the NBA. He’s a career 24- plus-point scorer. His team is one of four in the league to make the playoffs in each of the past five seasons. And yet, when it comes to Anthony’s career, there’s a sense of unfulfillment, of haven’t been there, haven’t done that.
That enormous talent of his is a curse and a compliment. He has done so much, but you wonder if Melo can ever do enough. Win in the playoffs, for instance. Or, you know, win in the playoffs.
“I know there’s that expectation,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “It’s a stress that seems to grow every year. In my opinion, it’s a curse. Expectations are wrongly asserted in a powerful way by many media.”
Truth is, the Nuggets in Melo’s first five seasons haven’t been good enough to win in the playoffs. And for all we know, it may happen again this season. What then?
“I haven’t been out of the first round, so I’ve got some unfinished business,” Anthony said. “But regardless of what happens, it’s always going to be on me anyway. I’m built for it, though. I can take it. It’s all good.”
But it could be great. That’s the thing with Anthony. He’s playing the best all-around basketball of his career, but, until he wins in the playoffs, he won’t be mentioned in the same breath as Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, the other cornerstones of the 2003 draft.
“You can’t compare me to those guys,” Anthony said. “D-Wade has already won a championship. LeBron has already gotten his team to the Finals. And me, I’m over here. It’s three totally different situations.”
Tell you what. Just because he isn’t appreciated as much as Wade and LeBron throughout the hoops world doesn’t mean Melo shouldn’t be appreciated too. He’s a great player. Not only that, he has It. He’s at his best with the game on the line.
Now for the interesting part: With the Nuggets having assembled the best supporting cast of his career, Anthony is starting to think he, too, could smell success in the playoffs. The Lakers are in their own private universe in the West. After them, Melo says the Nuggets can beat any team, including the Spurs.
Jim Armstrong: 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com
