Carmelo Anthony has packed a lot into his 17 NBA seasons. In that span, the Blazers forward has made 10 All-Star teams, earned All-NBA status on six occasions, led the league in scoring (2013) and appeared in the playoffs for four separate franchises (Denver, New York, Oklahoma City and Portland). On top of those illustrious achievements, he’s also a three-time Olympic gold medalist and Team USA’s all-time leading scorer in international play.
There’s a plaque in Springfield with Melo’s name on it whenever the accomplished 36-year-old decides to hang up his Jordans. But one thing the Syracuse alum will not be remembered for is his defense, which has run the gamut from tolerable to (especially late in his career) disastrous. Anthony was the subject of a recent discussion between Mark Jackson and ESPN colleague Jeff Van Gundy, who debated the veteran’s defensive prowess during Thursday night’s broadcast of Game 2 of the Western Conference quarterfinals between Portland and the victorious Los Angeles Lakers.
“This is a change,” said Van Gundy, noting Melo’s increased defensive activity relative to early in his career when scoring was his top priority. “This is different. This is putting more into the defense. Maybe before he didn’t play as hard defensively.”
Jackson seemed to agree with Van Gundy, but hinted coaching was to blame for Anthony’s defensive shortcomings early in his career. “There is a shared responsibility for whoever allowed that defense to be played because, for some reason, he has bought in with this culture and is committed to it. This is energy and effort.”
George Karl, who served as Anthony’s coach throughout much of his Nuggets tenure, took offense to Jackson’s remarks, responding by throwing the former Knicks All-Star and one-time Golden State Warriors head coach some serious online shade.
Holy Twitter fingers, remind me to never get on Karl’s bad side. Just ruthless.
Currently sixth on the all-time wins list behind only Don Nelson, Lenny Wilkens, Gregg Popovich, Pat Riley and the late Jerry Sloan, Karl’s teams have qualified for postseason hoops in all but five of his 27 seasons as an NBA head coach. And while Karl’s Denver teams could definitely shoot the lights out, they were no slouches defensively with Marcus Camby being awarded Defensive Player of the Year under Karl’s tutelage in 2007. Karl also coached Hall of Fame guard Gary Payton when he earned top defensive honors for the Sonics in 1996.
Meanwhile, Jackson took an up-and-coming Golden State squad to the playoffs in two of his three seasons behind the Warriors’ bench, but never advanced past the second round. His successor, Steve Kerr, has reached the Finals five times in six years, winning titles in 2015, 2017 and 2018.
Jackson took to Twitter to clarify his comments, claiming he meant no disrespect by them, though he did get a few jabs in, noting he never lost to Karl in the playoffs as either a player or coach.
That's a lot of chest-thumping for two guys who have never hoisted the Larry O’Brien trophy.
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