Jeremy Lin, Carmelo Anthony say they’ll work well together on the floor

With the New York Knicks on a Jeremy Lin-inspired seven-game win streak, Carmelo Anthony—out since early in the first game of that run with a strained groin—is expected to return to the lineup Friday against the New Orleans Hornets. NBA observers will be watching intently to see how Anthony and Lin mesh, and some doubt the transition will be a smooth one.

Neither Lin nor Anthony, however, foresees a problem.

“I’ve been hearing reports, ‘can Jeremy coexist with Melo?’ and everything like that,” Lin said on WFAN in an interview transcribed by Sports Radio Interviews. “I’m just confused because he was the one who vouched for me in the first place (by asking coach Mike D’Antoni to put him on the floor). So, we want to play together and want to work together and are buying into that. Some people call Melo selfish and (say) he doesn’t buy into the team. That’s just tough for anyone to hear, especially when we don’t think it’s true.”

Lin added that with Anthony back, he’s likely to take fewer shots. “That’s the job of a point guard,” Lin said. “I don’t want to come out here and shoot 20 shots a game, but if that’s what the defense gives me, then on those nights that’s what I’m going to have to do.”

On a separate appearance on WFAN, Anthony said he laughs at people’s belief that he and Lin can’t co-exist. “I laugh at that. ... You just take it in stride. I am enjoying the time right now and watching Lin and the team do well. Guys are stepping up. I got hurt and guys are stepping up. We’re winning basketball games, but that’s the most important thing.