Carmelo Anthony: New York Should Be Amar'e's Team, Not Anthony's

Carmelo Anthony Was Huge As New York Downed New Jersey Last Night, But Are the Knicks His Team?

Last night was Carmelo Anthony's best game in a New York uniform.

Anthony, the object of the Knicks' desire for months, dropped 39 points in a 120-116 win over the New Jersey Nets last night. New York needed every point as Amar'e Stoudemire sat on the bench in foul trouble.

After the performance, Tim Smith of the New York Daily News made a bold proclamation.

"Anthony is now the leader of the Knicks," Smith writes. "He is The Man, and it didn't take a 128-foot billboard a few blocks from the Garden to tell us that. It took him putting together back-to-back 39-point, 10-rebound games during which he was spectacular at both ends of the court. All of this was done while a tired Amar'e Stoudemire was saddled with foul trouble and watched most of that third-quarter comeback from the Knicks' bench.

"It feels good, especially right now," Anthony said. "It's a good time that it's happening, must-win situations, games we really need coming down the stretch to get into the playoffs. It's almost the perfect time for me to get into a groove like this.""

I'm sorry, but no, Anthony is not, and should not be the leader of this team. Stoudemire is the one who embraced New York when no one would. He's the one who attacked the task of being a leader when people questioned his ability to do so. Furthermore, he's the one who put this team on his back for the early part of the season and kept the Knicks in playoff contention.

Stoudemire is tired because Mike D'Antoni ran him into the ground night after night in the early part of the season. Despite that fatigue on the court, he's the leader of this team on-and-off of it. Anthony isn't going to answer the tough questions, he doesn't rally his teammates the way Stoudemire has this season and he hasn't shown leadership abilities anywhere other than on the box score.

While Anthony may steal headlines by dropping point after point in big games, it's Stoudemire's team. It has been since he signed on the dotted line last summer, and no trade is ever going to change that. How did Anthony as the leader work out for the Denver Nuggets?

This is a team that will thrive if the pressure isn't on New York's new star to carry the burden on the court and off of it. Stoudemire will take heat off of Anthony and in the end, the Knicks will be better for it.

Let's not rush to crown Anthony the king of New York just yet.

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