Michael Jordan is watching. Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony found that out last week. Two days after Anthony declined to enter the game in the fourth quarter of a March 19 game at Detroit, his cell phone rang. It was Jordan. "He called me," said Anthony, who endorses Nike's Jordan Brand shoes. "We talk sometimes." It seems Jordan was displeased with what he had heard about the incident. He told Anthony about Scottie Pippen's image being hurt after he declined to enter a Chicago Bulls playoff game 10 years ago. " Yeah," said Anthony, when asked if Jordan expressed some disappointment. "He was on the outside looking in. I don't hear everything that's going on. He told me that it was over with. I just have to learn from my experiences." Anthony admits the incident will hurt him in voting for Rookie of the Year. He said on ESPN's Sunday Night Conversation that it means "the Rookie of the Year award is slowly going down the ocean right now." Anthony, battling Cleveland's LeBron James for the rookie prize, was asked Monday to elaborate. "Yeah," Anthony said about the incident hurting his chances. "In my opinion , (winning the award is) not going to happen." So perhaps Anthony won't join Jordan - the 1985 winner - as a Rookie of the Year. But he will continue to talk regularly with the man he considers a mentor. "He calls me and gives me advice," Anthony said. "He just tells me, that if we lose, to stay focused because it's a long season. If we win, just keep doing what I'm doing." As for carrying the Nuggets down the stretch in a race for the playoffs, Anthony said, "I've got big shoulders." --

※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 163.27.39.88