Carmelo Anthony isn’t a doctor, but he has a good history of assessing the competition and taking advantage of weaknesses. In the past, he’s seen those weaknesses in his new teammate Derrick Rose. Since winning the 2011 NBA MVP, Rose has often been a shadow of his old self with injuries taking their toll physically and mentally. But Anthony looks at this year’s Derrick Rose and sees a different player.
“I’ve seen him play multiple times… He’s healthy. He has a different mindset,” Anthony says of Rose. That mindset has to do with proving he’s still an elite talent — that the Knicks got a steal. Rose was the youngest ever MVP and he’s got plenty of mileage left on the odometer. What’s been in question is the speedometer — is he still the same player, or near it? “I’ve never played alongside a guy like Derrick,” Anthony said. He means the Derrick Rose who’s in New York right now, not the one from Chicago circa 2011. If Dr. Anthony is right in his diagnosis, the Knicks really could be a Super Team, as Rose promised.
