Melo misses practice for team 'in crisis'
Carmelo Anthony #7 of the New York Knicks looks on late in the game against the Phoenix Suns. (Jan. 18, 2012) Credit: Jim McIsaac
GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- At the end of the first practice since Mike D'Antoni said the Knicks were in crisis, the coach spoke with interim general manager Glen Grunwald as they looked out at a court that didn't include their best player.
After Wednesday night's 91-88 loss to Phoenix dropped the Knicks to 6-8, D'Antoni said they were "in a little bit of a crisis." It was their fourth straight loss and the third time in six games they didn't reach 90 points. That made Thursday's practice all about offense.
"I was more in crisis," D'Antoni said. "I mean, sure, [the team] is. There's nobody that's happy where we are. We know we have to get it turned around. It's going to start [Friday night]."
The Bucks (4-9), losers of eight of 10, could help cure the Knicks' ills when they open a rare home back-to-back. Saturday night, the Knicks host Danilo Gallinari and the Nuggets in what should be an emotional game. It's the first time Anthony will play his old team since he forced the blockbuster trade 11 months ago.
And if the Knicks lose both, it could become a full-blown crisis.
The fact that Grunwald and D'Antoni spoke after practice raised some eyebrows, given that it's rarely done in front of reporters. D'Antoni was asked if Grunwald said anything encouraging to him.
"I don't know what we were talking about," he said. "We were just talking. He's great. Everybody's perplexed and everybody wants to try and work it out."
Amar'e Stoudemire sounded confident that the Knicks will. He gave an unsolicited endorsement of D'Antoni, who stressed tempo and ball movement at practice and said he will go over it with Anthony Friday.
The Knicks have run fewer pick-and-rolls and more isolations thus far; Anthony is more comfortable going one-on-one. But Stoudemire said D'Antoni's offense is predicated on getting everyone involved and getting easier shots, and it's up to the players to run it.
"Coach D'Antoni is an offensive genius," Stoudemire said. "He's been very successful with this offense, and he knows what it takes to score and how to win. So we just got to make sure we believe in his strategy and follow through with it.
"We got to pretty much force the issue. It's something I've been talking about from the start. I know how important it is. I know how well it works for the other guys to thrive in this offense."
The Knicks have been banking on Baron Davis' return from a back injury, perhaps during next week's four-game road trip. They certainly are missing a distributor and playmaker. But D'Antoni expects offensive improvement now.
"We're not really adhering to our offensive principles, we're not really moving the ball," he said. "There's a lot of a will to win, and that translates into just give me the ball and let me do it."
The results haven't been good.
