D'Antoni: Melo, Lin can play together
Jeremy Lin, right, and Carmelo Anthony, left, celebrate after defeating the New Jersey Nets. (Feb. 4, 2012) Credit: Jim McIsaac
Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said Jeremy Lin and Carmelo Anthony can coexist.
Both need the ball, and there has been speculation that Anthony, who is out with a strained right groin, will return to dominating the offense when he's back. But D'Antoni believes Lin, Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire, who is in Florida for his brother's funeral, will make the Knicks a potent pick-and-roll team.
"It's like when we had Chauncey [Billups],'' D'Antoni said. "Chauncey had the ball in his hands a lot. Melo has it a lot. Melo is one of the best pick-and-roll guys; hopefully now we have two of the best. I only see it helping. I don't see it as a problem. There will be some adjustments on both people's parts.
"I see it as a big, big plus. I see it when Amar'e comes back, there's another pick-and-roll guy, maybe the best in the game. I see that as a big plus . . . I can't wait to get those guys back."
Stoudemire will rejoin the Knicks on Monday. Anthony will be re-evaluated Sunday. He could return next week.
Chandler disappointedTyson Chandler said he was "a little disappointed" about not making the Eastern Conference All-Star team and feels a little underappreciated "at times like this." The coaches pick the reserves. Chandler was averaging 12.0 points and 9.9 rebounds and was shooting 69.7 percent from the field before Friday night's game against the Lakers, but the Knicks' record likely hurt him.
Said Chandler, "I knew they were going to have to take someone from the top teams."
Buzzer-beaters
The Lin family is enjoying the new words Jeremy's play has generated: Linsanity, Lincredible, Linning. "I didn't know that you can turn Lin into so many things because we've never done it before," he said. "Me and my family were just laughing. I guess we underestimated how creative everybody can be."
