Posts tagged CarmeloAnthony at FanHouse

Each Wednesday, Under The Microscope looks at a different player in the National Basketball Association and where they are in the season, how they're perceived on and off the court, and gives you a look at them in detail. Tonight the Miami Heat take on the Denver Nuggets on national televison, so we thought we'd start with the star rookie for the Heat, Michael Beasley. Join us after the jump to see where Beasley is and where he might be headed tonight.

After being examined by a specialist today, Carmelo Anthony learned that he'll be sidelined for three to four weeks with a "non-displaced third metacarpal fracture" -- in layman's terms, a broken hand.

The good news? He won't need surgery and may be able to shed his removable split in just a week and a half. In fact, Anthony is optimistic he'll be able to shave a week or so off his doctor's timetable. From the Denver Post:

"Four weeks, that's the doctor's statement. That's what they said," Anthony said. "They gotta say that. It all depends on my body and how fast I heal."

[...] "Two, two and half weeks, we play five games," Anthony said. "And just play it by ear after that."

There's a never a good time to lose a player of Anthony's stature, but the silver lining is that time off now may give allow for a nagging elbow injury heal. He missed a few games because of his elbow last month and has played through pain ever since. The Nuggets currently have a three-game cushion in the Northwest division, and in the long run it's better for the team for Anthony to get completely healthy now so he can be available down the stretch.

Carmelo Anthony was finally having a good season.

He'd stayed out of trouble, got himself a gold medal, and even though the Allen Iverson experiment was an unmitigated disaster, the arrival of Chauncey Billups has invigorated the entire team and brought new life to him.

So, naturally, on Monday night he suffered what is being referred to as a "probable fracture" by team officials and will see a specialist on Tuesday. ESPN reports that Anthony could barely use his hand at all due to the pain and injury.

The good news is that it's possible from the sound of the article that it won't be a long-term injury. Still, for a guy who's had a pretty amazing run, it's too bad to see that, especially with the big Dick Vitale game on Wednesday night.

It's also stunning to me that we're talking about a matter of days here. To play professional basketball with giant guys. Think about that. If I broke my hand, I'd be unsuccessfully trying to get out of honey-do chores with the ball and chain for six months. The fact that we're talking about a matter of days for Melo to return to action speaks both to his commitment, which is often questioned, and modern science.

God I love basketball. The league's first-ever 15-game night saw a few epic finishes, none better than the Kevin Durant-Carmelo Anthony tete a tete in Oklahoma City. The Thunder trailed 119-115 with a 30 seconds left when Durant scored on a tough driving lay-up. Down two, OKC decided not to foul Denver ... and it worked, as Chauncey Billups missed a three and Nene fumbled the offensive rebound. That set up the following bomb by Durant, and 'Melo's eventual answer.



The OKC crowd absolutely explodes on KD's shot ... and absolutely dies when 'Melo hits his own. Thunder fans deserve a few make-up game-winners after that heartbreak.

FanHouse's NBA Guide gives you a daily look at all the games that matter ... and some that don't.

A second Fat Monday in a row for the lig, with eight games of varying intrigue on the docket.

HEADLINER
Denver at Atlanta, 7PM EST

The night's best match-up will be the first to tip-off with two teams who have far exceeded expectations this season. The Hawks find themselves as the fourth best team in the East, led by exhilarating playmaking from Joe Johnson, deft shot-making by Mike Bibby and continued interior excellence from Al Horford. Josh Smith (dampened) and Marvin Williams (rebuilt) make this a pretty killer starting five, all things considered.

The Nuggets remain right in the Western mix despite being written off as casualties of the Portland ascension during the summer. As we have been over, it's a whole lot of Nené and Chauncey Billups doing the trick, but don't forget about Carmelo Anthony, who has better rebound numbers than Kenyon Martin and has really stepped up the defensive intensity.

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

The Denver Nuggets are among the top teams in the West. Their success starts in the locker-room, where everyone gets along and chemistry is good. In this video, after the jump, the team's players share with us some of the nicknames they've given each other, including 730, Quack, Suite 200 and more.

Renaldo Balkman, who is known as "Kool," even shows us his one-of-a-kind tattoo.

It has become a trend recently for players to openly campaign for All-Star votes, and to do so using the power of the viral video. Chris Bosh had the most memorable clip from last year, and Amare Stoudemire has kicked off the festivities for the 2009 game with this look at what life is like if you want to hang with STAT.


It would appear that there's a price to pay for living the high life with Amare, and it comes in the form of endlessly complimenting the Tall And Talented NBA superstar. Which doesn't seem so bad, actually.

If you check out vote4amare.com, you'll see that there are many more videos planned to help Amare secure a place in the All-Star lineup, with the next one scheduled to drop on 12/27. Although at the moment, Amare doesn't really need the help: he's currently leading third place Carmelo Anthony by over 43,000 votes for one of the West's starting spots at the forward position.

O.J. Mayo has been simply thrilling this season. Most knocks against Mayo have been dismissed, and all the otherworldly talent which made him tops in the high school class of 2007 has been realized early in his NBA career.

This isn't to say O.J. is without faults, or that he's the second Second Coming. There's a gulf between LeBron and O.J. But compare Mayo the Rookie to the vaunted draft class of 2003, and you start thinking about what may be.

After the jump, I take a visual look at Mayo's offense in comparison to the rookie years of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony.

Carmelo Anthony tied an NBA record last night by scoring 33 points in the third quarter during the team's win over Minnesota. The Nuggets were only playing Kevin McHale's Timberwolves, sure. Even so, 33 points in a single quarter is impressive no matter who you're up against -- well, provided it's another NBA team. Here's video of the destruction.


An unnamed Timberwolf was not necessarily overheard saying, "who's got 15?!" Anthony finished the game with only 45 points, largely due to his nine-point first half where he shot just 3-of-9 from the field. Whatever they're serving for halftime snacks in the Nuggets' locker room, I'll take two please.

[via BDL]

The Rotation is a weekly study on the NBA by one of our All-Star voices. In rotation this week is Tom Ziller.

Every time Allen Iverson moves, his new and old teams change irrevocably. A.I. is the type of singular player that demands incredible adjustment, from a team's playing style to the needs of its point guards to the defensive system used to the mix of jumpers and interior moves used to ... everything. A.I. is not a player you can "fit" into your scheme. In gaining or losing Iverson, you have to draw the scheme from scratch.

Since swapping Iverson for Chauncey Billups, Denver has certainly seen a metamorphosis. But Mr. Big Shot isn't The Answer, nor the answer. The truth behind the Nuggets' rise traces also to Chauncey's new friends, Nene and Carmelo Anthony.