Will he play? Carmelo won't say
Like a jump shot bouncing around the rim before deciding whether to go in, Carmelo Anthony left two important mysteries hanging in the air yesterday.
Is he going to play against the Knicks today?
Not sure.
Is he going to play for the Knicks someday soon?
Not sure.
Anthony was in Manhattan Saturdaywith his current team as the Nuggets prepared for today's noon affair against the Knicks at the Garden. Anthony has missed the last two games with right knee inflammation.
It will be a game-time decision as to whether he plays in Denver's only visit to New York this season.
Notice we didn't say Anthony's only visit to New York this season.
If he's traded to a team other than the Knicks before the Feb. 24 trade deadline, he could come back.
And if he's traded to the Knicks, he'll call MSG home.
Big day at the Garden today. He knows it.
"Everybody's been circling [the date] for me," Anthony said. "So I didn't have a chance to circle this game."
First things first: Will he play?
"Today was probably my first full, full workout," he said. "Moving, doing some agility stuff, some explosion stuff. Felt good. Getting there. That's all I can say . . . I'm going to get out there early, see how it feels."
Is it important for him to play Sunday in his hometown? (He was born in Brooklyn and his family moved when he was 8.)
"I want to play just because I didn't play in the last two games," he said. "Of course, we only come here once a year. I want to get this game. I don't know. We'll see at 12 p.m. tomorrow."
Second things second: Will he sign an extension with the Nuggets? Will he be traded before the deadline? Will he play out the season, then sign elsewhere?
Only the first and third options are fully under his control.
"My mind is not made up," he said. "My mind is just focused on this game tomorrow. That's really all I'm focused on right now. My mind is not made up.''
Anthony did say he thinks things will be settled "one way or the other" by the deadline. "I think it'll be decided," he said.
Speaking of Nuggets first-year general manager Masai Ujiri, Anthony said: "We sit down every day to talk, whether it's about basketball, whether it's about the Nuggets, whether it's about just life in general. We have a lot of conversations . . . We'll come to an agreement one way or the other."
Knicks fans are curious about the Anthony stuff, but they also are excited about seeing their own red-hot team. The Knicks have won seven in a row behind Amar'e Stoudemire, who has scored at least 30 points in all seven games and is averaging 34.4 in that span to bring his season average to 26.1.
The last time the Knicks saw the Nuggets was on Nov. 16, when Anthony scored 26 in a 120-118 Denver victory. It was the Knicks' sixth straight loss, dropping them to 3-8. They have won 12 of 13 since - something Anthony jokingly took credit for after giving Stoudemire a pep talk when the Knicks were struggling.
"Obviously, what I said to him in Denver has really sunk in," Anthony said. "He's doing everything I told him to do to get those boys on track."
Wait . . . did he do it for Stoudemire? Or for himself - the future Knick?
"Don't start that," he said, laughing.
