After the Nuggets closed out New Orleans on Wednesday night, Carmelo Anthony said the Pepsi Center still was his house . . . and Chauncey Billups had just moved in.
It was one of those remarks that, especially in print, can be misinterpreted. Anthony wasn’t jealously claiming “it’s all about me” primacy.
He was expressing a star’s attitude within a team concept, and also teasing the veteran point guard whose arrival was so crucial to the Nuggets’ transformation from a 50-win team that never was more than an ersatz contender in the Western Conference to a bona fide threat to the Lakers.
That’s my interpretation of Anthony’s words, anyway.
When I asked Billups about it Thursday, he said that’s the way he took Anthony’s “my house” comment, too.
“It is,” Billups said with a smile, and then repeated himself for emphasis. “It is. Ain’t no question about that. I agree.”
Anthony wasn’t one of the players made available to the media Thursday, when the Nuggets met and watched tape, beginning preparation for Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals against Dallas on Sunday.
Nuggets coach George Karl was more than willing to address the issue of Anthony stepping up and making it to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in his six seasons.
“In a lot of ways, he’s rebuilt this organization from a 17-win team to five years in the playoffs, even though he was scrutinized. Not a lot of young kids do that,” Karl said. “He’s in the same category as LeBron (James) in taking a bad team and making it a playoff team. He hasn’t gotten a lot of accolades for that. And you know, (Wednesday) night, it was his house. He was the best player on the court. After we got the lead, he just said, ‘We’re going to win this thing.’ . . .
“I told Melo yesterday that I hadn’t been to the second round since 2001. It’s more that once you get there, that’s where you want to be. It’s kind of like you’re a part-time actor on Broadway until you win on Broadway, and then you become a full-time actor. … I’m happy for him.”
After Jay Cutler’s departure, the climax of perhaps the most monumental “pox on both houses” fiascos in Colorado sports history, it’s only fair to give Anthony — a year younger than the quarterback — credit.
The situations aren’t exactly analogous, but they are similar enough to at least ponder.
Anthony did a far better job of professionally handling the situation when the Nuggets didn’t refuse to answer calls inquiring about Anthony’s availability in trade, and the buzz — right or wrong — was that Denver didn’t consider him untouchable.
Angry, he asked for and got assurances he wouldn’t be traded. It didn’t poison the relationship, and he went about his work. Cutler seemed to be acting out the script of “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” losing maturity every day. Anthony still has his rough edges, but he increasingly “gets” it with each tear of a calendar page.
In Cleveland, James is so exceptional, so commanding, so mature, the No. 1 overall pick from that 2003 draft is on another planet as he leads the Cavaliers into the second round, with a likely berth in the Eastern Conference finals looming.
In Denver, Anthony is growing up before our eyes, and that’s part of the fun. The deeper the playoff run, the more delicate the balancing act can be for the star, on one hand, wanting to get that last shot, to be in the spotlight, to make it his house; and, on the other hand, to subjugate his ego when it’s the best strategy, whether the opposing star is Dirk Nowitzki in this series or Kobe Bryant if the Nuggets advance.
“Every great player has to read the game on how much volume he can take and bite off,” Karl said. “I think Melo has done a magnificent job of that in that last series, better than he ever has. ‘OK, you’re double-teaming me, I’m passing the ball. I know I’m going to get my options and my opportunities. And if I only get 15 points and we win, it’s cool.’ There’s not a forcing mentality to the game. And that’s what I saw pretty consistently in Melo’s performance.”
It’s as if he’s playing with house money now.
Terry Frei: 303-954-1895 or tfrei@denverpost.com
