Anthony continues to struggle
Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks goes to the hoop for a basket against the Detroit Pistons. (March 24, 2012) Credit: Jim McIsaac
Finally, the shots began dropping for Carmelo Anthony. Still, the Knicks forward never quite seemed comfortable.
Anthony had a decent performance in Saturday night's 101-79 win over Detroit, scoring 15 points. But the intermittent lapses in his production are glaring. It's a startling trend that Anthony can't explain, but he doesn't seem too concerned about it.
"I don't know. I wish I could tell you the answer to that question," Anthony said of his recent offensive struggles. "I'm not worried about that. I've been around this game for a long time. It happens. Not worrying about that."
He shot 5-for-12 Saturday night and never quite settled into a groove against the hapless Pistons (16-32) despite an occasional 15-footer or putback that brought the Madison Square Garden crowd to its feet. And Anthony's stunted production could loom large if Amar'e Stoudemire's lower back injury becomes an issue.
Stoudemire left the game in the third quarter and did not return, although he later said he is OK.
In the midst of the Knicks' second-quarter excitement -- behind-the-back passes by Jeremy Lin and Tyson Chandler putbacks -- Anthony was nowhere to be found. Aided by a renewed energy and plenty of Pistons ineptitude, the Knicks (24-25) built a sizable lead by halftime. But Anthony was merely a spectator.
He played 29 minutes and, to his credit, was one of the first off the bench to congratulate a teammate during breaks in the action.
Entering the game, Anthony was averaging 17.2 points in March and shooting 38.9 percent. He's averaging 20.1 points for the season.
Stoudemire (17 points), who said he was fine after the game, expressed confidence in Anthony's ability to rebound.
"We try to make sure to get him the ball in easy positions so he can get going," Stoudemire said. "He scored well in the second half."
Anthony had only 12 points and shot 6-for-15 in Friday's loss to Toronto, the Knicks' first defeat in six games under new coach Mike Woodson. Before Saturday night's game, Woodson said Anthony's offensive woes were a byproduct of more players getting involved on offense during the recent five-game winning streak.
To make things easier for him, Woodson drew up back-to-back plays specifically for Anthony to start the third quarter. The result: four easy points.
"As a coach, I've got to help him," he said of Anthony, who, after starting 1-for-7, opened the second half 4-for-4 before missing his final shot.
But Anthony said he doesn't want his struggles to be the team's focus. "As far as my offensive games go, I'm telling you, I promise you, I'm not concerned about that," he said. "I'm not."
