Chauncey Billups sees evidence. The Knicks point guard knows Carmelo Anthony's concentration level has elevated for the postseason.
"He's doing film sessions, and he's bringing up little things that are going to become a big deal during the playoff series," Billups said yesterday. "And only players that are really in tune and locked in do that."
Tomorrow night in Boston, Anthony will make his Knicks postseason debut, taking the court to battle the Celtics in Game 1 of the best-of-seven playoff series. The 26-year-old superstar, who averaged 26.3 points in his 27 games since coming over from Denver, is a lifetime 24.5 points-per-game scorer in the playoffs, spanning seven seasons and 45 games with the Nuggets.
LOCKED IN: Chauncey Billups said Carmelo Anthony is concentrating on making an impact in his postseason debut for the Knicks tomorrow against the Celtics in Boston.
With the Knicks, Anthony was particularly superb over an eight-game stretch toward the end of the regular season, during which he averaged 31.5 points as the Knicks went 7-1.
After finishing his taping for "The Late Show With David Letterman" on Thursday, Anthony told The Post, "I can't wait" for his Knicks playoff debut. Yesterday he insisted he will relish a hostile crowd at Boston's TD Garden.
"When you can win on the road, in front of all the boos and the yelling and all that, that makes it that much better," Anthony said. "I love it. I've been in hostile environments before. Booed the whole game. And to win one of those games on the road, there's no better feeling than that."
Anthony's matchup with
Paul Pierce will be one of the most scrutinized in the series, along with the Amar'e Stoudemire-Kevin Garnett battle and the Billups-Rajon Rondo encounter. Three positions, six All-Stars.
Anthony said he couldn't care less about the individual clash.
"I'm not thinking about that. My focus is to try to go out there and beat the Celtics. We're going to try to beat the Celtics," he said. "I'm not going to try to make this a one-on-one battle between me and Paul Pierce. Because I can't beat Boston by myself and Paul is not going to beat us by himself."
Maybe not. But Anthony's focus, according to Billups, is up. It's the postseason.
"He's a lot more focused," Billups said. "And that's not to say that he's not focused during the year, but I think everybody's focus is a little heightened in the playoffs and he's always in a position where they make it out to be where it's kind of his shoulders. That's what great players get, that responsibility."
