On paper, the New York Knicks were supposed to be one of the best teams in the NBA this season. With Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler, Landry Fields, and a host of other solid players on the roster, the thought was that this team could play with any team in the league—and give the Heat and Bulls a run for the Eastern Conference crown. But, so far, the Knicks have been a bust. They're 6-6, they're currently sitting in second place in the Atlantic Division behind the red-hot Sixers, and they're on the verge of being banned from Madison Square Garden by their own fans if they don't start playing a little defense. And to top it all off, 'Melo is now admitting that he's worried about how the team's been playing to start the season.
"We're not playing with a high level of confidence right now," he told ESPN New York. "I think we need to get back to that and get back to having fun...I think everybody needs to relax out there, just play basketball. At the end of the day, it looks like we're not having fun out there. And when you're not having fun out there on the basketball court, it makes everything tougher."
You can say that again. Then again, we could make the argument that "having fun" isn't necessarily going to result in the team playing better D. To do that, they're gonna have to, well, start playing better D. And we wish them a lot of luck doing that under coach Mike D'Antoni's scheme. Too bad the Knicks couldn't have played this season "on paper," eh?
[via ESPN New York]
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