The problem with Melo

We'll try to take it somewhat easy on Carmelo Anthony. The guy has had a tough year:

- The Knicks went just 14-13 in the 2010-11 regular season after acquiring Anthony last February.

- They were swept by Boston in the first round of the playoffs.

- As the 2011-12 season kicked off, Anthony was banged up and ineffective. He was lost for two weeks after pulling his groin during a game against Utah. The Knicks sat at 10-15.

- In his absence, Anthony had to watch Jeremy Lin be the exciting, go-to guy, leading the Knicks back to a .500 (16-16) record.

- Anthony returned against New Jersey on Monday. The Knicks lost.

Now Anthony has two more games against two tough opponents - Atlanta and Miami - before All-Star Weekend where he'll face a tough truth: Anthony is the worst shooter on either All-Star team.

Entering Tuesday, Anthony had a .398 field goal percentage, by far the worst of any All-Star. The next lowest is Deron Williams with .412. Among starters, the next lowest is Kobe Bryant's .443 mark.

Anthony's shooting woes seem to be concentrated in a few areas:

1. He's posting the lowest two-point shooting percentage of his career: .427. His second lowest ever was .440 in 2003.

2. Anthony's shot from 3-9 feet is also at an all-time low of .196. His second lowest percentage came during his rookie season when he posted a .232 mark. It hasn't fallen below 30 percent since 2004-05.

3. Though not by any drastic margin, Anthony's shooting from 16 feet to three-point territory is also a career worst. His .339 is the lowest since shooting  .350 during his rookie season. His percentage hadn't fallen below 40 percent during the previous four seasons.

4. Anthony's jump shot is a personal worst .320. His second lowest came when he posted a .324 mark during his rookie season. He hadn't fallen below 38 percent in any of the four previous seasons and hadn't fallen below 35 percent in any of his six previous seasons.

5. Despite his lack of success with the jumper, Anthony is shooting them with the third highest regularity of his career. He attempts a jumper 13.86 times per game, up from 13.61 last season and greater than his 12.67 career rate. His previous two highest rates came in 2008-09 (14.89) and 2009-10 (15.10), when he made his jumpers at a .382 and .383 rate, respectively.

But for all his woes, hope remains for a second-half turnaround, a statistical course correction that puts Anthony back in line with his career norms. And heck, the Knicks are in contention and Anthony -- even if he has the worst shooting percentage -- is an All-Star.

Cody Derespina's “The Numbers Game” is a Newsday app-only exclusive.