Tom Thibodeau praised the abilities of Carmelo Anthony after the Chicago Bulls' morning shootaround.

"He can score so many different ways," Thibodeau said. "He can post up. He can catch-and-shoot. He can isolate. He can be the screener in a pick-and-roll. He can be the ball-handler in a pick-and-roll. He gets to the free-throw line. He’s a great offensive rebounder. If you overcommit your help, he probably doesn’t get enough credit for being a very good passer, particularly to the weakside corner. He can hurt you a lot of different ways. He can score the ball very easily. It doesn’t take him much to get going."

Thibodeau agreed that his reputation as a selfish ballstopper is overstated.

"It’s interesting because with USA Basketball, they talk about him being a playmaker," he said. "He scores and if a guy is open, he passes the ball. I think oftentimes it’s who he plays with.

"It’s interesting, a lot of the things that you hear about him, I heard about Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen and Paul Pierce before they came together and won it. That changes perception. Carmelo has been one of the elite scorers in the league for a long, long time."