Despite leading by eight points at the end of the 3rd quarter, the Knicks managed to let things slip away down the stretch tonight, and suffered a brutal loss to the woeful Pistons.
What’s perhaps more disturbing is that their newly acquired “star” Forward, Carmelo Anthony, was visibly disinterested and sullen throughout the second half. Anthony managed just six points on 2-for-12 shooting, contributed a -4 plus/minus, and forced shots during crunch-time.
But that was just half the story as Newsday’s Alan Hahn noted during a late-game New York timeout that Anthony ”[n]ever got off the bench, stayed in his seat, completely expressionless.”
That Marbury-like behavior, and the fact that Anthony failed to get back on defense on several critical late-game Piston possessions is a serious cause for concern. An NBA star’s offensive ineptitude — however rare — should always be wholly irrelevant to his focus, determination, and will to play hard on both ends of the floor.
That this is even an issue just 14 games into his Knick tenure is no less shocking than it is worrisome.
***
The Knicks play at home on Sunday at 4:00pm against the Milwaukee Bucks.
2 Comments
Got question for those in the know, here, and that is, in your opinion, who is the better basketball player, Carmelo, or Amare? I want to know which of these two is going to surface as the real leader and inspiration for the team because I sense a kind of competition among them. Thanks for your input.
First of all, as an avid Lohud Yankees fan, Im really happy that this blog is back in action and I hope it can provide us with a great place to get info on our favorite team and let us discuss their news.
Now, its unfortunate that the Knicks are more of a mess than before the trade. Yes, we have the desired two stars, but this second one, Melo, is already causing trouble. Doesn’t he like D’Antoni already? I don’t like him either but, is Melo always gonna have trouble with coaches?
I was excited about this new season and while the team we had before the trade was as inconsistent and as bad defensively as the new one, at least they were more exciting and less prone to controversies.
And another point: what is wrong with us playing against sub-.500 teams? Its like any game against one of them is a sure loss. This team is driving me nuts.