NBA Rumors: Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks Already At Odds After Rough Start?
NBA rumors are swirling that New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony is already disgruntled with his teammates after his team’s rough 1-3 start, multiple media reports have suggested.
The rumors have stemmed from an Instagram post Carmelo Anthony made on Thursday. The post — showing Carmelo Anthony alone near center court clutching a ball to his chest — includes a caption fans of the New York Knicks interpreted as one coming from a malcontent star player.
Not true, Carmelo Anthony insists. The New York Post reported that the Knicks player attributed the caption to lyrics from the song “Just Win” by the rapper Jeezy.
“His album just came out. Please don’t overthink it. It’s too early for that. I love the game. Please don’t dissect that. I just felt those lyrics goes with that picture. Don’t dissect, please don’t. It’s nothing more to it than me posting it. If I posted it today with a smiling face, you wouldn’t say anything.”
Rumors surrounding friction between Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks also came from the team’s poor showing on defense to start the season. Following the team’s loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, fellow New York teammate Courtney Lee questioned why the Knicks spent so much time focusing on the defending the triangle offense when most teams run other offenses, the New York Daily News reported.
After adding three new starters during the off-season, the Knicks are experiencing a defensive learning curve as their new teammates gel. Carmelo Anthony concurred with Courtney Lee and suggested New York could benefit from additional practice time together.
“I don’t disagree with him saying that we need to practice more. I’m all for that and working on the things we need to work on.”
Currently, New York ranks near the bottom of the league in team defense under first-year coach Jeff Hornacek. Carmelo Anthony admitted that if the New York Knicks continue to exhibit poor defense, a rift could develop.
“It could get discouraging. Me personally, this is something I’ve experienced before and I know what it feels like. I don’t want to experience that anymore. That’s where the frustration comes from. It’s a thin line between that. I know what type of team we have and our capabilities are. We’re not there yet. It’s a fine line between getting frustrated and understanding the situation we’re in.”
Prior to the start of the season, Carmelo Anthony was all smiles as he welcomed Courtney Lee, along with former Chicago Bulls teammates Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose to the New York Knicks. Courtney Lee was among the many observers who believed the New York Knicks were set to become a “scary” team with a starting five rounded out by Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis, the Inquisitr reported.
Carmelo Anthony has led the team offensively this season, scoring 21 points per game while shooting nearly 44 percent from the field. Despite his strong personal start to the season, the New York Knicks have struggled by losing three of their first four games.
The results have been somewhat understandable to Carmelo Anthony, unfortunately. At the start of the season, 10 of the 15 players on the New York Knicks roster were not on the team to start the 2015-2016 season, Fansided reported. After Wednesday’s loss, Carmelo Anthony addressed how he is approaching the early part of this NBA season.
“I sat on the bench (in the 2nd half) and I realized that this is kind of a process and it’s all new to everybody. I kind of relaxed a little bit and told myself everything’s going to be all right.”
Do you believe Carmelo Anthony, or do you believe the NBA rumors that suggest he and the New York Knicks are already at odds? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
[Featured Image by Michael Reaves/Getty Images]
