(Big C) It’s a new season and it could be the beginning of Carmelo Anthony’s transformation to a complete player. Carmelo Anthony is already a tough opponent to stop on the offensive end of the court. He is one of the few players that can mix up their game by scoring from the inside and outside of the court.  Carmelo is the pure definition of  a triple threat. If a player plays Anthony too close he will drive on his opponent. If a player gives him space he can score by either shooting the midrange shot or the deep 3 pointer. To make matters worse,  Carmelo Anthony has the ability to postup on the low box. The low box is where Carmelo Anthony can take a step back fade away or spin for a layup.

The critism of Carmelo Anthony’s game is rooted in his performance on the defensive end.  However, since Carmelo Anthony has become a Knick we have seen Melo cause turnovers by playing hard defensive. So far this season Carmelo Anthony has been moving his feet and trapping his man and even getting a block shot.

In the Nets preseason game we saw Melo chase down his man to block what was suppose to be an easy basket.  That shot was deflected by Carmelo Anthony.  Now that  you have seen Carmelo Anthony score and play defensive there is   another area where Carmelo Anthony can expand his game and that is playing the point forward.

During the lockout I asked Melo about what he thought about playing the point forward. Melo smiled and said, “You are going to have to call D’Antoni on that one.”  A month later and Carmelo Anthony is running as a point forward for the New York Knicks.  So far Melo looks good at running the point. In fact, Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni already believes that Carmelo Anthony could in fact be the best passer on the Knicks team.

With Carmelo playing the point:

Pros

1. We have seen the offense run smoother by Carmelo drawing attention to defenders and  Melo  finding  the cutter.

1. Carmelo Anthony does not have to wait to get the ball. He can decide early to either score or pass the ball to Chandler or Amar’e.

1. It’s always good to have the ball in one of your best players hands.

1. he can see the court easily, because of his height at 6’9, to find teammates.

Cons

1. You do not want your star player to get burnt out in a tight season with numerous back-to-back games.

2. Carmelo Anthony could have  low  energy to score or play defense in key situations.

3. Because Anthony is learning the position, this could lead to an increase of turnovers.

Overall, Carmelo Anthony playing the point can be a good thing. When you ask any of the NBA greats what Carmelo Anthony could do to get mentioned in the same sentence as Lebron and Wade they normally say they would like to see him control the ball more and take over games as well as play defense.

Here are the clips of  Melo running the point

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