I’m not going to hate on Carmelo Anthony or blame him for the craptacular play of the Nuggets last night. Carmelo is a good player with the potential to be great — but he’s not going to be great until he grows up.
Something bad was going on during last night’s game — Carmelo was smiling that big smile after getting called for fouls. Did you see that? I’ve noticed him doing this, last season and the season before, when something doesn’t go his way. He gets called for a foul or there’s no whistle when he gets hammered on the way to the hoop, and out comes the shit-eating grin. It means he’s not giving 100%. His head isn’t in the game and instead of an elite athlete, he’s acting more like a surly teenager.
If you see that smile, it means trouble. It means he’s going to be careless. He’ll only give a half-effort when driving to the basket for a layup (which means he’ll miss the shot and might not get the foul call). In the worst case, after that smile comes out Carmelo will do something ridiculously stupid and immature, like jab the throat of an opposing player and get thrown out of the game.
I’m not saying he shouldn’t smile or have fun playing basketball. But if you’ve seen the smile I’m talking about, you probably understand that it shows frustration instead of happiness. It’s the look of “why me” and “here we go again.” It’s not the look of someone who’s going help his team get past the first round of the playoffs this year.
I don’t know if Carmelo Anthony has to be the team’s leader. Iverson and Camby can do that. Carmelo does have to take each game seriously and play hard instead of slipping into smiling give-up mode, and this will require maturity that he seems to be lacking. I don’t know how he’ll develop that maturity, but I hope it happens soon.
November 30, 2007 at 11:56 am
I do agree with you that Carmelo still has some growing up to do, but we must also remember that he left college early and is still a very young player. I think you’re seeing some of those NBA growing pains, but I do think he’ll mature as time goes on.
However, I disagree with you about that smile of his meaning he’s not giving 100%…I think you’re reaching on that one. Haven’t you ever had someone say something to you or do something, and it seemed so crazy to you that all you could do was laugh? If he were out there giving less that 100%, he couldn’t be nearly as good as he is. You don’t become a superstar in the NBA if you’re not giving the effort. It just doesn’t work that way.
November 30, 2007 at 12:10 pm
I see what you’re saying and I agree that he’s thinking the foul call or the non-call is so crazy all he can do is laugh — and that’s understandable. However, I think that to be REALLY great, he needs to let that frustration fuel him to push harder instead of laughing it off, even for a second. I’m totally over-analyzing him, but it feels like he loses a little of his edge when he does this.
I still think he’s not giving 100% — he does sometimes, but not always. He’s not up to his full potential yet, and maybe that’s not all bad because it means when he gets there, he’ll be RIDICULOUS.
November 30, 2007 at 7:43 pm
I think you’re right; Carmelo has a ton of potential. But I think he got kind of caught up in a shifty situation, coming into the league with so much expectation. Being drafted with the likes of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, and then never quite measuring up. For his sake I hope he pulls it together. Unfortunately I don’t see Denver going anywhere until he does.
Cool site, by the way.
December 1, 2007 at 2:19 pm
Thanks!
I think Carmelo has the potential to be better than James and Wade, without question. He just needs to work at it.