Carmelo Anthony Calls Lin’s Play a ‘Dream Come True’ Before Knicks Return
New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony
Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony.
New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony. Photographer: Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony called the emergence of point guard Jeremy Lin “a dream come true” for a team that has won five straight games.
Anthony, 27, also said he doesn’t expect to have any difficulty adjusting to the new offense when he returns this week after being sidelined by a strained right groin.
“When I get back, Jeremy will have the ball in his hands and I’m playing off of that,” Anthony told reporters yesterday at a team practice. “It’s easy, give him the ball and space out. I get back to doing what I know how to do best.”
Anthony, who leads the Knicks with 22.3 points per game, has missed the past three games. Forward Amar’e Stoudemire is expected to return to the lineup tonight against the Raptors in Toronto after missing a week for his brother’s funeral.
Lin, a 23-year-old Harvard graduate, has scored 20 or more points in five straight games, including four starts, for the Knicks (13-15). No other player in NBA history has scored at least 20 points and collected seven assists in his first four starts, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
“It takes some pressure off of me,” Anthony said. “I don’t have to play point guard. I don’t have to try to get Amar’e 20 points, try to get this guy 20 points, me try to go out there and get 25-30 points a night, play defense, rebound, do the whole thing.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Rob Gloster in San Francisco at rgloster@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net
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