‘Melo doesn’t want to play power forward. Please.

Carmelo Anthony had a lot of success in the London Olympics playing the four spot — he is a matchup nightmare at the power forward spot. He can knock down the three, put the ball on the floor against slower guys and back down smaller defenders in the post. Mike Krzyzewski loved using him in that role.

Now that he’s back in New York, ‘Melo wants to get back to playing the three on the wing. Here is his quote, via ESPNNewYork.com.

“Right now, we have guys in that position. We want to keep it like that,” Anthony said Monday when asked about playing more power forward this year. “I’d rather play my natural position then go down there and play the 4, the 5 and things that I don’t really want to do. So with the guys that we have now, I find that we’re definitely that much more effective.”

Last season, when Amar’e Stoudemire was out, Anthony played more power forward and according to 82games.com had a PER of 29.5 at the four, 17.4 at the three.

I’d like to see a mix, personally. Depends on matchups, but the Knicks could go very small with Amar’e Stoudemire at the five and Anthony at the four (although there would be defensive issues). Or rest Stoudemire and play Anthony at the four with Tyson Chandler at center.

Anthony is going to spend most of his time where he wants, out on the wing. But if the Knicks offense is going to click, Anthony is going to have to trust his teammates, learn how to play nice with Stoudemire and make some sacrifices. Oh, and play some at the four, too.