Melo now the Knicks' lone star

Melo now the Knicks' lone star

Howard Simmons/New York Daily News

Carmelo Anthony spreads wings as his responsibility grows with Amar'e Stoudemire hurt.

The Carmelo Anthony-Amare Stoudemire pairing hasnt been working, and still you have to think that the Knicks would much rather have that problem than be where they are today: Facing life without their No. 2 scoring option when the playof fs roll around in just 31 days.

MELO LIKELY TO PLAY VS. MAGIC, LIN IFFY

There is no guarantee the Knicks will hold onto eighth place if Stoudemire cant return from a bulging disk in his back over the last 16 games. Although, if you caught the Bucks the other night, you might think the Knicks will get eighth, even if they back their way in. So lets say that the Knicks do make it, maybe finishing as high as seventh.

Then theyre a sweep waiting to happen against Chicago or Miami.

Not that the Knicks should have ever put up those pictures of the Larry OBrien Trophy in the players lockers, in the first place. But if they dont have Stoudemire, or if he comes back for the postseason and tries to play off a second major back injury in the past 11 months, then you can put those photos in mothballs.

This is more than just reminding everyone that Carmelo Anthony managed to get the Nuggets out of the first rou nd only once in seven tries, and he needed Chauncey Billups playoff expertise and leadership to do that. With Stoudemire off getting a second opinion in Florida, this really is Anthonys show, officially.

But the NBA playoffs are all about having scorers and stars plural and thats why you can already see that the Knicks will be in deep trouble, if they qualify.

Say what you want about Stoudemire and how hes played, but hes not done, one Eastern Conference GM said Tuesday. He isnt getting them 25 points a night or even 22 anymore. But in the playoffs, youve got to be able to score, and hes a guy the defense still has to pay attention to. Other than Carmelo, who is going to do that for them?

Wednesday at the Garden, there will be a question of what Anthony can give the Knicks against Orlando. After reinjuring his groin against the Bucks, he looks like hes one false step from winding up in the trainers room for another long stretch.
< br /> The condensed NBA season has been a league-wide war of attrition, and the Knicks are starting to lose it. The frontcourt was supposed to be the strength of the team, too. When the Knicks signed Tyson Chandler, Mike DAntoni took a look at his new front line and called it the best in the NBA. Well, it was the highest-paid, with the three pocketing $ 50 million this season between them. But the best? In theory only, and then DAntoni couldnt get the Anthony-Stoudemire pairing to work any better than it worked last season when the Knicks were ousted in four games by the Celtics in the first round.

Then two weeks ago, Mike Woodson was abruptly handed the reins, and he has since expressed reasonable reservations about taking over a team with two Alpha scorers who have never blended, and with the league having caught up to Jeremy Lin, as everyone believed it would.

Woodson has stayed with Lin as his starting point guard, but that is more a reflection of Baron Davis limitations at this point in his career. Whether it was going to be Lin, who could be back Wednesday, or Davis for the rest of the way, Woodson had to figure out how to get Stoudemire to resemble the player who performed at an all-NBA level when he first came to New York, while also catering to Anthonys one-on-one talents. For whatever reason, Stoudemire had recently started showing signs that he was going to make good on his vow to elevate his play after the All-Star break.

Hes still not the same guy he was when he first got to New York, but how do you replace him? one Eastern Conference scout said. Even at his reduced rate of production, hes still their second scoring option and a lot better than their backups. Who else do they have to score on a consistent basis?

Its too late to make moves. The roster is set. After Anthony, the fall-off to the next guy who can get the Knicks a big scoring game is even bigger than what LeBron James used to face when he played in Cleveland. As we know, Melo is no LeBron when it comes to making teammates better.

With the bad news on Stoudemire, Anthony can already see his third sweep out of the first round of the playoffs.

If he can get the Knicks there.