Every weekday throughout the season, ESPNNewYork.com will tackle a burning question about the Knicks in our "Opening Tip" segment.

Today's Burning Question: If Melo and his peers continue to perform at levels they've established in the first 20 games of the regular season, could Anthony win the league's MVP award?

Carmelo Anthony returned from a two-game absence and picked up where he left off, scoring 34 points and pulling down six rebounds Sunday night to lift the Knicks to their eight straight home win to open the season.

Afterward, Anthony's teammates and his coach were throwing his name into the early MVP conversation.

"He's been amazing throughout the entire season. Tonight was no different. He’s playing at an MVP level right now," Tyson Chandler said.

Mike Woodson added: "Melo is playing at such a high level. There's no question he's one of the MVP candidates in the league this early season. He's been great for us. His teammates, they rely on him. And he's relying on guys around him to help him. That's the beauty of our team right now."

Of course, it's early. Nothing's decided 20 games into a season, least of all the MVP award.

Anthony himself dismissed any notion of MVP talk last week when he said, "We're what, 14 games in?"

But let's assume that Anthony and his peers continue to perform at the levels they've established in the first 20 games. Would Anthony have a shot at the MVP?

There's little doubt that LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant will be in the conversation.

So how does Anthony stack up? He ranks third in per-game scoring (26.4), behind Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant.

He's ninth in Player Efficiency Rating, a metric developed by ESPN's John Hollinger to measure a player's per minute performance. With a PER of 23.95, Anthony trails Bryant (25.81), Chris Paul (25.49), Tim Duncan (26.47), Durant (28.12) and James (28.99).

Anthony ranks sixth in plus/minus for players who've been on the floor for at least 600 minutes this season. The Knicks have outscored opponents by 153 in Anthony's 645 minutes on the floor.

He's also tied for seventh in estimated wins added, the approximate number of wins a player adds to a team's total above what a replacement player would produce.

But all these numbers could be trumped by the Knicks' narrative this season.

If Anthony leads the Knicks to a strong regular season and high playoff seed, then he could make a strong case for the league MVP.

Question: What do you think? Could Anthony win the MVP?

Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.