Drunken Expectations

With the NBA playoffs coming up soon every team is getting ready. Some are getting ready for playoff action and some are getting ready for an early off season, but they are both getting ready nonetheless. Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets is getting ready for something other than the playoffs now however, as he was arrested late Sunday night on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. The arrest comes at a time when the Nuggets do not need distractions, as they are clinging to the 8th and final playoff spot.

Carmelo was first thrust into the spotlight in high school, where he was considered one of the top NBA prospects in the country. He attended Syracuse for one year of college, winning an NCAA Championship while there. He was drafted by the Nuggets in the lottery, and has become an extremely good player on the court. Off the court, however, is another issue.

Carmelo has been involved in multiple incidents, including a fight last season at Madison Square Garden. No one has ever said he is a bad person, and I am certainly not accusing him of that. I am however accusing him of being extremely immature. He, along with Allen Iverson, needs to be leading his team to the playoffs, and he isn't. I understand if he isn't a natural leader and would rather lead by example, but it's one thing to be a quiet star and another thing to be a distraction. Carmelo is slowly going from the former and becoming more the latter.

Obviously, Carmelo still has plenty of time to change, and players with bad attitudes certainly do it all the time. Randy Moss and Kobe Bryant are both players that were considered major distractions for their teams at some point, and both took this last season to change their ways. Whether or not Carmelo can do something similar is yet to be seen, but if he doesn't he could become just another in a long line of players that have great talent and horrible attitudes.

~Aaron Jackson