Krieger: Anthony finally gets a chance to go solo

Published August 24, 2006 at midnight

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With every performance by USA Basketball's not-so-senior men's team - especially the last one - Carmelo Anthony shifts the onus of his NBA potential to the Nuggets organization.

While Anthony's participation as a bench ornament on the 2004 Olympic team confirmed he was not ready for prime time and excused the Nuggets for modest achievement, his transformation into a star for Mike Krzyzewski in the '06 World Championship rightfully raises expectations for the Nuggets.

Perhaps LeBron James is merely in a slump, but Anthony has looked every bit his equal playing beside him in the Worlds so far, not to mention the equal of Dwyane Wade, who just carried his team to an NBA championship.

Which raises an obvious question. Last spring, James' team made it to the seventh game of the second round of the playoffs. Wade's team went all the way. Anthony's team was one and done, for the third year in a row.

Anthony's role in these postseason meltdowns suggests a basketball chemistry experiment gone awry. Opponents willing to devote several defenders to the task harnessed and frustrated him while his teammates authored a percussive symphony with the rim, backboard and occasional passerby.

On the verge of elimination by the Clippers this year, Anthony gave voice to the general disappointment.

"This is the year that we really thought that we would be able to move on, get out of the first round and solidify the season that we had, to validate it," he said then.

"It's kind of hard for myself every time I see two or three players out there, hoping that your other teammates make shots or try to take the slack off me. It's hard when you're trying to win the game but you can't win the game because you don't want to play against two or three players."

Anthony did not know how to handle this stacked deck and admitted as much. But opponents can't stack the deck when he's playing alongside James, Wade, Elton Brand and Chris Paul. Thus freed, he burned Italy for 35 points, an American record in international competition.

The Italians played mostly man-to-man defense. Anthony and Wade feasted, hitting a combined 23-of-31 shots. What Anthony wouldn't give to see a little of that single coverage come April and May.

Melo and his 2003 draft classmates collected their inheritance a little earlier than expected. Kobe Bryant was supposed to be the centerpiece of the '06 national team, which would have made it much harder for the kids to run the show.

But Bryant bowed out following knee surgery and the three from '03 took over. They are making a pretty good case that their time has come, although Spain or Argentina will still have something to say about the Worlds.

James and Wade made that case in the NBA, too, taking their teams deep into the playoffs. Melo made it in the regular season, putting up numbers reminiscent of Alex English, but the Nuggets' failure to be a factor in the postseason is more worrisome in view of Anthony's starring role on the world stage just a few months later.

The message so far from Sapporo is the Nuggets must surround Anthony with people that can shoot, which is more or less what the Heat and Cavaliers have tried to do for Wade and James. When a covered LeBron dished to an open Damon Jones for a game-winner in the playoffs, it went a long way to opening up space for LeBron. In the Finals, the Mavericks had to honor Jason Williams, Antoine Walker and Udonis Haslem, which meant they were never able to shut down Wade.

George Karl has talked about running a Phoenix-style system this season, which could only benefit Anthony's game. In Mike D'Antoni's offense, Melo might lead the league in scoring.

But the Phoenix offense is predicated on five guys who can shoot. The Nuggets don't have that many. Opponents are only too happy to let Marcus Camby, Kenyon Martin and Nene shoot jump shots all day. Last season, they felt free to double or triple Anthony off of pretty much anyone on the floor.

Even after cutting ties with general manager Kiki Vandeweghe, which would suggest some dissatisfaction with the roster he built, the Nuggets haven't made big changes.

They've replaced Greg Buckner with J.R. Smith at shooting guard, which may or may not be an improvement. They've traded Ruben Patterson for Joe Smith, which is a step in the right direction - Smith can shoot; Patterson can't - but a minor one.

Periodic reports suggest they have something bigger in mind - trading Smith, for example, as part of a deal that nets Corey Maggette, a bona fide scorer. But, as the Nuggets would say, that's just one of those scurrilous offseason media reports.

This much we know: Anthony is in the process of establishing, for all the world to see, that he is ready for prime time. Whether the Nuggets can say the same is not so clear.

kriegerd@RockyMountainNews.com

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