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New Yorkers are tough to please.

First they clamor for the Knicks to land Carmelo Anthony at any cost, but when he finally arrives, it becomes chic to ridicule his defense in every medium from print to radio.

But amidst the Big Apple’s collective groans, one Bronx native was willing to defend Anthony’s defensive ability.

"What I thought about Carmelo is he can play defense," Knicks president Donnie Walsh told HOOPSWORLD. "He has the ability to do it, and he’s big and strong so he doesn’t let people get down [in the paint] on him. Like, maybe, Dwight Howard can do that [to Anthony] but not many people can just back him in."

In fact, the team is so pleased with Anthony’s defense that Corey Brewer—who is known as a lockdown defender—was waived. Allowing a premiere defender to walk to Dallas seemed unconscionable to most Knicks fans, but the Knicks front office doesn’t view defense like a specialty act. Unlike Boston or San Antonio—teams that have been willing to play strong defenders regardless of whether they can play offense whatsoever—New York needs everyone to contribute on both ends of the floor—even Anthony.

That’s why Walsh insisted upon including someone like Anthony Carter in his now famous trade with Denver. Carter can stick the point, run the offense and even get to the hole now and again.

"I’ve always tried to get guys who can do both," Walsh said. "I like good defense players. That’s one reason we got Anthony Carter. [Knicks guard] Toney Douglas was the Defensive Player of the Year in the ACC. And then we have Jared Jeffries, who’s a good defender. We’re trying to get guys who can fill in the blanks for Amar’e [Stoudemire] and Carmelo, because if you put them on the top players and they get in foul trouble, it really hurts this team."

Walsh may sound like he’s just defending his team, but he really doesn’t have to. Yes, Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni’s last name frequently gets lampooned as "’Antoni" or "d’Antoni," but that’s just the lazy way of criticizing the Knicks defense, which has yielded 105.3 PPG this season (tied for 25th in the NBA).

Not only is that joke getting tired; it’s slowly growing untrue.

The Knicks rank a respectable 17th in the NBA in defensive efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions) because, after all, New York plays at a faster pace and that means both teams get more offensive possessions. Furthermore, the Knicks lead the league in blocks (6.1 per game) and are eighth in steals.

"I thought it was basically because [Ronny] Turiaf got a lot of blocks, Amar’e gets his share of blocks, and the big guy, [Timofey] Mozgov, got blocks," Walsh said. "Now I think [Jared] Jeffries will get some blocks, but we’re not really what you think of as a shot-blocking team."

Stoudemire leads the Knicks with 2.08 BPG, while Turiaf (1.15) and Shawne Williams (0.77) have moved into the team’s Top 3 since Mozgov and Wilson Chandler left. The Knicks had only four blocks in Sunday’s win in Atlanta, but they made up for that by holding the Hawks to 37 second-half points.

Walsh’s other recent acquisition, former Knicks forward Jeffries, proved particularly useful in the win.

"What Mike does a lot is he puts Jeffries on the guy that’s setting the pick in the pick and roll," Walsh said. "When the ball comes off, they switch it. He used to put Chandler on the guy who was bringing the ball up, and so then [after the pick] Jeffries would take the ball. And Jeffries can do that. He doesn’t let you beat him. If you take a jump shot, he’s got a big hand. He’s a very smart defender. He’s watching to see where he can help guys."

The Knicks won’t be supplying anyone to the league’s All-Defensive teams and D’Antoni’s defensive approach will continue to be maligned (Friday’s effort against Cleveland was, admittedly, discouraging). But to Walsh, the Knicks just have to follow some basic defensive principals and let the offense take care of the rest.

"I think they have to hold their positions," Walsh said. "You have to hold everyone in front of you and then, in the post position, you can’t let guys get too deep. You just can’t. We don’t double team very much and that’s good because we don’t run all over the floor."

The Knicks host the Utah Jazz tonight at 7:30 PM.

{AUTHOR_BOX}Love in the Air at All-Star Weekend

In complimenting OKC general manager Sam Presti, NBA.com’s David Aldridge got some interesting answers from Minnesota’s Kevin Love on player-to-player recruitment in the wake of the LeBron James signing. 

"LeBron’s decision was a big one," Love said, referring to LeBron James’ effect on the Thunder’s choice to sign Kevin Durant to a contract extension before he hit the free agent market. "I think it influenced kind of everybody around the league, and that’s kind of where everybody’s headed. I think I saw Chris Mullin talking about it [Friday] night."

Love has reportedly gotten a contract extension offer from the Timberwolves, but he’s also heard plenty of other players’ opinions on where he should sign next.

"A lot of it was (about) OKC," said Love, who could be a free agent next summer if he doesn’t sign an extension. "A lot of it was a few other teams that just need that one more guy. And a lot of it was circulating around the Lakers, ’cause we were out there as well. There was a lot of pressure and a lot of questions were circulating, and I almost felt like, ‘Damn, I have to take a step back and, not assess the situation, but kind of look at things from a broad horizon.’

"As far as right now, I love the city of Minneapolis," he continued. "I like Minnesota as a state. I love the people here. Our team is very young. We have a lot of stuff going for us when you look past the win column. I think I just have to look at that come contract time."

Pierce and Westbrook Named Players of the Week

Boston’s Paul Pierce and Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook have been named Eastern and Western Conference Player of the Week respectively.

The Celtics were 4-0 last week as Pierce averaged 21.8 PPG and shot 58.7% from the field. He drew a little praise for his 27-point performance against Golden State, but it was his dunk against the Bucks that still has NBA audiences talking.

Westbrook averaged 27 PPG last week, but still managed to average 9.7 APG over the same time frame. His best game came in Sunday’s win over Phoenix: 32 points and 11 assists.

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