Lakers forward Carmelo Anthony shows love to New York before his clash against the Knicks, emphasizing his appreciation for the city.

Long ago, the Knicks were blessed by the presence of a scoring champion in the form of Anthony, electrifying Madison Square Garden and New York as a whole. However, the Knicks entered a recession and failed to make the Playoffs for consecutive years, even with Anthony present.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5ZkB0Afb0eKhGDSO3sDGR4?si=16217aa95c2e45dc

Melo revived his career during his stint with the Portland Trail Blazers after receiving endless criticism on his personality and skill. Today, Anthony is adapting well to his new role, serving as a crucial scoring option off the bench for the Lakers.

 

“For me that love is different. That fanbase is different for me here in New York and like I said it goes deeper than basketball. They embrace me, I embrace them. I don’t think that bond between myself and New York City will ever go anywhere. That’s why I embrace it the way that I do.

“But I’m looking forward to tomorrow, the crowd. The Knicks are playing great basketball. They have some good energy up here. We know how Thibs’ teams are. They are a very tough team. We know we have to come out and play our heart out tomorrow night. It’d be great to get a win in the Garden, I’ll tell you that.”

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The Knicks are far from their atrocious days at the garden after making it to the Playoffs last season as the 4th seed. On the other hand, Anthony is averaging 15.2 points for the Lakers, who struggle to manifest their status as a title contender in the NBA.

Both the Knicks and the Lakers have near-identical records, with the former boasting a 9-8 column and the latter standing at 9-9. Fans expect an action-packed matchup at the garden, but, who will emerge victoriously?