Knicks' lack of effort, energy bothers Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo Anthony of the Knicks sits on the bench late in a game against the Washington Wizards at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The calendar reads early November, but watching and listening to the Knicks lately, you would think it's last season all over again.
The coaching staff is new. The system is new. Some of the players are new. But in back-to-back losses this week, the Knicks didn't play with passion the whole game, then lamented their lack of energy and effort.
It may be too soon to sound an alarm, but it is distressing to see players who remember the pain of missing the playoffs last season performing sluggishly. In their three losses, the Knicks have been down double digits and in two of them didn't fight back or make it a game.
"I won't say I'm worried about it,'' Carmelo Anthony said. "But for me to sit and talk about energy five games into the season, that's something we have to correct right now. We don't want that lingering where 30, 40 games into the season I'm sitting here talking about energy again. We want to nip that in the bud right now.''
The Knicks will have a chance Friday night at the Barclays Center against the Nets. But the Knicks shouldn't need a loud crowd or a hyped game to provide energy or a sense of urgency.
In consecutive wins over the Cavaliers and Hornets, the Knicks played hard on both ends, got key stops and executed well down the stretch. They looked different from last season, and players noted they might not have won those games then.
In the past two games, losses to the Wizards and the previously winless Pistons, the Knicks played in spurts, showing traces of the disappointing team that went 37-45 for Mike Woodson. They started fast and fizzled Tuesday against Washington, losing by 15. The next night at Detroit, they fell behind by 18, came on late but lost by three.
"We got to hit first,'' Amar'e Stoudemire said. "We got to let teams know we mean business.''
Derek Fisher said completing a back-to-back contributed to the lack of energy. That's a convenient excuse. They beat the Cavaliers in the second night of a back-to-back in LeBron James' Cleveland homecoming.
The Knicks ended up being down two key "energy'' players against Detroit. J.R. Smith was suspended for hitting Wizards guard Glen Rice Jr. in the groin, and Pablo Prigioni sprained his right ankle in the second quarter. Smith will return Friday night, but Prigioni is doubtful.
Still, the Knicks were slow on rotations against Detroit, giving up too many open threes, and were dominated inside. The Pistons' big front line of Greg Monroe, Andre Drummond and Josh Smith had 41 rebounds (two fewer than all of the Knicks), including 16 offensive boards. Fisher said there were "breakdowns,'' yet those numbers also reflect a lack of effort.
Jose Calderon remains sidelined by a calf injury, leaving Shane Larkin as the Knicks' only point guard. Two-guard Iman Shumpert will play some point Friday night and perhaps Saturday night in Atlanta. Shumpert was dejected after the two losses.
"Right now, we're 2-3,'' he said, "so we got to make sure we get one in Brooklyn.''
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
