With just ten days left in the season, the New York Knicks are looking like a team that is trying to send a message to every other organization in the league. As they ride a 12 game win streak, they’ve grabbed a strong grip on the second seed in the Eastern Conference. The team has been playing well across the board but Carmelo Anthony’s performance has taken front and center.
As the Knicks have went on this run, Anthony has been front and center as his scoring performances has helped him take the lead among the league’s scorers at this point in the year. He’s played in 11 or the12 straight wins for the Knicks and in each of those contests he’s scored at least 20 points. Yet, it is his last four outings that have pushed him into contention for his first scoring title since entering the league back in 2003.
Saying that Anthony has been “on fire” during these last four games would be an understatement. He’s brought in 167 total points, which equates to nearly 42 points per game while playing against four of the leagues playoff teams. He’s shooting at a 60.9 percentage clip from the floor and that includes 56 percent from behind the three point arc. What is more interesting is that he hasn’t had many trips to the free throw line during this stretch. His 8.25 rebounds are much improved over his season average of 6 as well.
Looking further into Anthony’s numbers show that he’s only added six assists to his team’s play during his impressive scoring streak, which is the only subpar aspect of his run. So the rest of the team has also had to step up to add to the box score in other areas while Melo added the buckets.
The first place to look is to J.R. Smith who has been considered a front runner for 6th man of the year. He’s averaged 21 points while shooting 44.3 percent from the floor during this run. Coming off of the bench, Smith has hit a number of key baskets for the Knicks to keep momentum in their favor when their opposition begins making a push. The deep three pointer late against Oklahoma is just one example of where he’s fit into Knicks success not just during this streak but the season as a whole.
Carmelo Anthony has been a lightning rod for the New York Knicks during their late season success but J.R. Smith has also pushed himself to compete above his season and career averages. With both of these players competing at such a high level the Knicks will have a better opportunity to make it out of the first round for the first time in years.
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