Perhaps it might have been something for (Jerry) Colangelo, Coach K and the rest of the staff to debate in their meetings in early May had Melo (Anthony) continued to average barely 20 points and shoot around 40 percent from the field after (Mike) D’Antoni’s departure on March 14. But he hasn’t. If you don’t remember how reliable he was in Beijing, presumably you were paying attention this week when Melo looked as good as he ever has for the Knicks, uncorking a monster triple-double against the Celtics (35 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for just his second career triple-double) and following that up by scoring 21 first-quarter points against the Nets before settling for 33.

Tyson Chandler is even more of a stone-cold lock among Knicks candidates because of the growing need for size in the wake of the surgeries suddenly required by Dwight Howard (back) and LaMarcus Aldridge (hip), but Melo’s not far off. Not with the way he can score all over the floor and play as a 4-man internationally just like he’s been doing in New York with Amare Stoudemire out.

“He will be on that team,” one USAB insider said.

via Marc Stein of ESPN