by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni
It was inevitable, really. Here were the Denver Nuggets, a cohesive and unselfish unit, strolling into the Garden to take on the mess that is otherwise known as the New York Knicks.
Denver’s crushing double-overtime victory handed the reeling Knicks their 6th consecutive loss, and created ever more panic for their dejected fanbase and increasingly cynical media. As for the players themselves, Carmelo Anthony finds himself in need of some serious soul-searching.
The former Nugget wondered aloud if he was to blame for the Knicks’ woes, and Anthony says that he would like for his co-workers not to be afraid to tell him if this is the case. From the NY Daily News and Newsday:
“There is a bunch of stuff that goes through my mind,” Anthony said after the Knicks lost their sixth straight, including four at home in six days. “What am I doing? What am I not doing? I have been in this situation before when shots don’t go in. Should I pass it more? I am sitting there thinking. Maybe I should take the blame for the games we are losing … our offensive struggles. I will take it […] “I am hard-headed at times as far as them telling me to sit down some games,” he added. “I don’t know how to take that but maybe it is time to reevaluate that.”
“We as a team need to do a better job getting Amar’e the ball,” Anthony said Saturday. “I have the ball in my hands. Maybe it’s on me. Maybe I need to get him the ball a little bit more, help him out with that. Me and [Stoudemire] will talk, try to figure it out together. If I’m doing too much, I want him to tell me. I want the guys on my team to tell me if I’m doing too much. We handle it like that.” Anthony said there already have been “team meetings, players meetings.” But this one-to-one seems long overdue.
The blame game in New York has shifted from head coach Mike D’Antoni, to ‘Melo, the lack of a productive point guard and bench, and finally Amar’e Stoudemire. As Anthony points out, STAT hasn’t been aggressive on the offensive end this season (to say nothing of his shortcomings on defense and the boards.)
Carmelo Anthony is right in that needs to take a serious look in the mirror. But he’s certainly not the only Knick who should be taking that crucial step.
