Not many people our age have seen the movie “Teen Wolf,” and for good reason. The ridiculous 1985 teen comedy stars Michael J. Fox as Scott Howard, a typical high school nobody who discovers that he isn’t really typical at all. Howard is, in fact, a werewolf.
Now, a mid ’80s teen comedy werewolf isn’t very similar to the creatures we imagine wreaking havoc and destroying innocent victims one at a time. Howard’s version is a loveable, extremely popular basketball sensation. Basically, Scott Howard is freakish and uncoordinated. His werewolf alter ego, on the other hand, could beat Jimmy Chitwood one-on-one.
This brings me to my actual point. In Game 1 of the NBA playoff series between the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony was perfectly ordinary. He shot only 5-18 from the field, finishing with a mere 15 points and four rebounds in an eventual Knicks loss. For all intensive purposes, Carmelo was in his “Scott Howard phase.”
I’m not sure when or how, but at some point between the end of Game 1 and the beginning of Tuesday night’s Game 2 in Boston, something changed within Carmelo. He transformed. Anthony went “werewolf” all over the Celtics on Tuesday night, and there was nothing they could do to stop it (except letting him pass to Jared Jeffries).
With both Chauncey Billups — the wily veteran and distributor — and Amar’e Stoudemire — the inside presence and emotional leader — sidelined with injury, Carmelo single-handedly pushed New York to the edge of victory against the defending Eastern Conference champs in their own building.
He finished the game with 42 points, 17 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and the unanimous respect of everyone in TD Garden. Nobody else in Knick blue and orange went for more than 14 points, and only two other players finished in double figures. He snatched 10 more rebounds than the closest Knick contender, and at the end of the night led the team in points, rebounds, assists and blocks. This performance was the definition of a single-handed effort.
Not surprisingly, the Celtics pulled out a 96-93 win. As it turns out (and as Kevin Love can attest), it isn’t easy playing 1-on-5. Add to the fact that three of the five challengers are future hall-of-famers and another is one of the league’s premier point guards, and the task is almost inconceivable.
Still, Carmelo’s performance on Tuesday shouldn’t be easily forgotten. If nothing else, it justifies how much New York gave up to acquire the proven scorer in a midseason trade. What you have now is not just a four-time NBA All Star who can score from anywhere on the court. He’s a playoff weapon, a closer who finishes games and plays his best basketball when his team really needs him. Basically, he’s the anti-LeBron.
Although they are down 2-0 in the best-of-seven series, New York has reasons to be confident moving forward. They are expected to have Stoudemire back for Game 3, and his scoring and leadership should take some pressure off Carmelo. Not only that, but they will have the home crowd inside Madison Square Garden cheering them on, instead of just Spike Lee. But most of all, they have Carmelo Anthony, a star that recently made the jump from “Scott Howard” to “full blown werewolf.” That has to be reassuring.