New York Knicks: Carmelo Anthony, The Vastly Underrated Passer

New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony often gets labeled as a selfish player, but the numbers suggest he’s quite the prolific passer.

New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony has always been known as an elite scorer, because of his ability to score anyway, and from anywhere on the court. He is one of the toughest stars to guard in the league because of that, and his peers seem to agree with that assessment.

"[via The Players’ Tribune]“If I had to single one guy out who is the most difficult player to guard in the league, it would have to be Carmelo. He’s a unique blend of being big, strong, and athletic while also having a world-class shooting touch and a natural ability to get to the rim. That’s what sets him apart — every facet of his game is elite.Some great players will have one or two particular skills that make them special. But Carmelo can do everything, which puts you in a baaad situation as a defender. A lot of guys might shoot better from certain areas, so you try to force them elsewhere on the floor. Carmelo doesn’t have a spot on the floor where he can’t consistently hit shots.”"

When future Hall of Famer Paul Pierce says you’re the toughest guy to guard in the league, fans should start to take notice.

Game after game, every facet of his offensive arsenal is on display. Whether you force him to shoot three’s, or pull-up mid-range jumpers, Melo can do it all. That’s what makes him such a special player.

Yet, his passing skills seemed to go unnoticed by most casual fans, and sticks out as a vastly underrated skill-set of his.

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Last year, he led the New York Knicks in assists per game, averaging a career high 4.2 assists a night. But because of another losing season in the Big Apple, his improvements seemed to go unnoticed by most of the league.

Despite that, he continued to flourish with his passing game. Last season he ranked fourth among small forwards in the league, with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.70. Only LeBron James, Andre Iguodala and Joe Johnson had a higher assist to turnover ratio.

Melo even finished ahead of notable playmaking forwards Giannis Antetokounmpo and Gordon Hayward.

In secondary assists, he sit tied for sixth among forwards in the league with 0.8 a game. He also placed 11th in potential assists (teammate attempts a shot, and if made, it would have been an assist) with 7.8 per game.

But what stands out most about his passing improvements, is his assist percentage of 21.9 percent, which was the highest of his career.

Carmelo Anthony has become an enigma in most NBA fans’ eyes. Known mostly for his scoring output, Melo’s overall game tends to get overlooked because of it. But last year, he continued to show off his evolution as a basketball player.

Although he is getting up in age, Carmelo still has a few good years left in his prime. Now, with the offseason additions, the Knicks are going to need Melo’s passing skills even more then last year.

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The team is going to have a lot of options offensively to score, so Anthony is going to need to continue to trust the pass next season. And if he can do just that, the New York Knicks should have no trouble making the playoffs in the upcoming year.