NEW YORK In front of the team he flirted with but later spurned in front of the fans to whom he committed to entertain with a nine figure pact Carmelo Anthony proclaimed his dedication to the New York Knicks on Wednesday night with a short video that projected from the scoreboard at Madison Square Garden. Running through various city streets underneath elevated Subway trains and along the Hudson in a movie quality production Anthony explained what makes New York great how he bleeds blue and orange and it culminated with him making one last declaration.
I m all in Anthony said. Are you
The timing of the video was perfect because it came during the first timeout with the Knicks holding a six point lead over the visiting Chicago Bulls. It wasn t long thereafter that the Knicks short lived lead had become a deficit so severe that fans were already booing for the first time in the Phil Jackson Derek Fisher Anthony triangle era. By the end of the night the world s most famous arena was so empty and quiet that Derrick Rose couldn t fathom what was happening as he watched the entire fourth quarter of the Bulls 104 80 win on the bench.
Never. Nah Rose said when asked if he had been at Madison Square Garden when it was so lifeless. But I don t want to talk too much about that.
Pau Gasol dunks as Carmelo Anthony watches. (Frank Franklin II/AP Photo)Anthony understood the ramifications of his decision to stay in New York for the security of a $124 million contract instead of taking the pay cut needed to hasten his chase for the jewelry that the other top five picks from his draft class have acquired. He knew that choosing the Knicks would require patience and faith in Jackson and that a mismatched roster of players learning a complicated offensive scheme could yield some initially gruesome results.
But that decision would also provide Anthony with the stardom and stage he desired the opportunity to play in front of celebrities like Spike Lee John McEnroe and Taylor Swift to have Questlove mixing music as guest DJ and to have opening night pre game introductions so elaborate they included a flashing light performance from Blue Man group.
The Bulls tried to lure Anthony to Chicago with the promise he could have less stress on the floor if paired with Rose the former most valuable player who is finally healthy and relaxed after playing just 10 games in the past two seasons. That pitch could only come with an offer of four years and $70 million an extreme haircut for Anthony a former scoring champion.
When Anthony passed to grasp the only true guarantee in the NBA the money the Bulls honed in on Pau Gasol. Rose didn t think the Bulls could lose either way.
Tell you the truth for our team we were just looking for any contribution on the offensive side. Anyone who could score the ball and help our team. Pau came over Rose said. Plays where you need a great shot and you know things aren t rolling for you you can easily dump it down. If you double team it s going to be wide open shots wide open threes. Any other time the shot is going down. It makes the game easier for everyone.
In his debut with Bulls Gasol had 21 points and 11 rebounds and helped show why Rose won t have to carry the sole responsibility of savior for a franchise and a city because he has more help than ever.
I think there is a lot of pressure off his shoulders. We have a variety of weapons Gasol said. So he doesn t have that pressure on himself to be able to score and force things. Some games are going to go one way some games are going to go the other. He s got to stay aggressive for the others attract the defense and make plays.
The burden to be so much for his hometown fans has been at times overwhelming for Rose especially as he returned from a devastating left knee injury that had him playing with little joy and contributed to another devastating right knee injury last season. But Rose feels more at ease in his re return. He can work out the rust without worrying always about saving the day. His coming out party will have to be put on hold for another time as Rose spent Wednesday mostly attacking the rim to draw fouls and hitting a few mid range jumpers.
I think this is the first time I played in the league where in the first game I only played low 20 minutes and only had 13 points Rose said flashing a grin. I thought for sure I was going to have a little time in the fourth quarter in the Garden. But the game got kinda out of hand and Bulls Coach Tom Thibodeau didn t call us back in. It was real fun being on the bench being able to laugh.
Derrick Rose liked what he saw from his teammates Wednesday night. (Frank Franklin II/AP Photo)Gasol was no mere consolation prize for missing out on Anthony he was an in demand free agent with two championship rings who selected the Bulls over San Antonio Miami Oklahoma City the Los Angeles Lakers and Knicks. Jackson and Fisher tried to recruit Gasol to New York leaning on their past successes in Los Angeles. Anthony spoke with Gasol when he was contemplating playing for the Lakers but never tried to court the 7 foot big man to New York.
I didn t get involved in that. I didn t really know my situation let alone what Pau s going to do. it s kind of hard for me to get involved in that Anthony said while acknowledging the difference he made. Pau is Pau. He makes plays. He s been in this league a long time he s a smart basketball player.
Even if Anthony had joined Jackson and Fisher the efforts probably wouldn t have changed the end result. I thought that the team was not at the level of the other options that I had Gasol said.
The Bulls didn t want to spend too much time discussing what might ve been had Anthony decided to show up on Wednesday wearing red instead of white. Rose asked at the morning shootaround Who wouldn t want to play with a talent like that But the Bulls are out to show that they won t need him to get to their desired destination.
We wasn t really worried about the Melo situation. That was behind us. We re trying to get better and push for a championship. We re not holding any grudges for anybody Taj Gibson said after scoring 22 points off the bench.
Chicago has made the playoffs in each of the past six seasons advancing to the Eastern Conference finals in 2011 but Rose s misfortune has limited the Bulls rise. Without him they were the gritty little train that could do but so much. Now they are favored by many to take the East over the latest super team built around LeBron James in Cleveland.
The first game was an encouraging step for the Bulls. Jimmy Butler Chicago s best perimeter defender was out with a sprained left thumb so Mike Dunleavy sacrificed scoring altogether to focus on helping to limit Anthony to just 14 points. Gibson had been bragging about how the second unit routinely beats the starters in practice and the improved depth Bulls Vice President John Paxson and General Manager Gar Forman sought to assemble last summer was on display Wednesday as the bench was responsible for 55 points.
Who knows how good we can be We still got a long way to go Rose said. I think we have a good team. We can t get too big headed it s only the first game but when things run smooth the way they did you got to look at our whole entire team and how deep we are.
If Anthony spent even a second glancing over at Chicago and imagining what could ve been he wasn t willing to share those emotions after a blowout loss at home. He also wasn t going to overreact over one loss.
Embarrassed No I m not embarrassed Anthony said before departing to catch a flight to Cleveland for LeBron James s return to the Cavaliers. We ll see them three more times and we ll learn from that. So I m not too concerned at this time. We will get better. I believe that.
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