Exile over: 'Melo a free man

DENVER - Back from a 15-game suspension for fighting, Carmelo Anthony has unprecedented freedom in the Denver Nuggets' evolving offense and a new running mate in Allen Iverson.

Freedom to shoot. Freedom to penetrate with the basketball. Freedom to maneuver on the court, assuming Iverson remains a marked man by opposing defenses.

With freedom comes responsibility. Coach George Karl wants to maintain Anthony's freedom but lower his responsibility, starting tonight against the Memphis Grizzlies at Pepsi Center.

"I worry that we give him too much responsibility," Karl said. "Sometimes we ask him to be Superman rather than an NBA player. We're trying to build a framework and a style so that he doesn't have to do that."

The Nuggets went 7-8 and averaged 100.9 points in 15 games without Anthony, who was suspended for punching New York Knicks guard Mardy Collins in the face in a December brawl.

At the time Anthony was suspended, the Nuggets were 13-9 and were averaging 108.5 points. Their scoring average has slipped to 105.4 points, fourth-best in the NBA, and they're in second place in the Northwest Division, five games behind Utah.

When Anthony last played, he had to overcome double teams and rely on Andre Miller and Earl Boykins to get him open shots. Now that Miller and Boykins have been traded, Anthony anticipates he'll see fewer double-teams alongside Iverson and better scoring chances alongside Steve Blake, a pass-first point guard.

"I still have the same responsibilities on the team," said Anthony, a co-captain. "A.I. has his responsibility. I need him, and I need everybody else out there to play their role and do what they've got to do."

Anthony leads the NBA with a 31.6-point scoring average on a career-best 50.3 percent shooting. He scored 30-plus points in 16 of 20 games before his suspension.

Iverson has averaged 27.7 points and 7.7 assists in 14 games with the Nuggets. He has had five games with 30-plus points and four games with 10-plus assists.

"My goal is to make him better," Iverson said of Anthony. "Hopefully he'll feel like the game is a lot easier for him. I want him to be able to average more. I want him to have that much more freedom on the court, knowing that I'm out there and that people can't double him like they used to."

Said Nuggets guard J.R. Smith: "He used to have to draw double- teams and get other guys shots. He had to do a lot of extra stuff. With A.I. on the side, he doesn't really have to do much at all. Just shoot the ball when he gets it."

Karl stressed the importance of Anthony staying levelheaded.

"I don't want to change how he's playing," Karl said. "I just want him to understand that he doesn't have to be the greatest player on earth every game. Good is OK. Hopefully good will help us win games, then those special moments and special opportunities are going to happen.

"Don't force it to happen. Don't get over-crazy when it doesn't happen. Great players have missed shots. Great players have gotten in foul trouble. Great players have had bad nights."

Asked about playing with Iverson for the first time, Anthony said, "I've just got to keep doing what I was doing before the suspension and get back into the flow. It's going to take some time. It's going to take a couple games, but we're going to click."

Copyright 2007
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