Is This IG Post Carmelo Anthony's Response to Phil Jackson's Ball Hog Comments?

Carmelo Anthony insists he is not bothered by Phil Jackson's comments on CBS Sports earlier this week.

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Complex Original

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The reason Phil Jackson made less-than-positive comments about Carmelo Anthony earlier this week remains to be seen; one thing is nearly certain, though: the Zen Master knew what he was doing. And now, Carmelo is dealing with the backlash that Jackson certainly knew would follow after he appeared on CBS Sports’ We Need to Talk.

If you haven’t heard by now, Jackson–the Knicks’ president–compared Anthony to Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, but somehow managed to do so in a negative way. The comparison came during a discussion about the Triangle, Jackson’s famed offensive system.

"He can play that role that Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant played," Jackson said. "That's a perfect spot for him, to be in that isolated position on the weak side. Because it's an overload offense and there's a weak-side man that always has an advantage if the ball is swung.”

OK, all good so far. So, what are people so upset about?

“Carmelo, a lot of times, wants to hold the ball longer than–we have a rule, if you hold a pass two seconds, you benefit the defense,” Jackson said. “So he has a little bit of a tendency to hold the ball for three, four, five seconds, then everybody comes to a stop. That is one of the things we work with. But he has adjusted to it, he knows what it can do and he's willing to see its success."

Anthony had no interest in discussing Jackson’s comments when he was asked about them after the Knicks’ loss Wednesday to the Cavs.

“I don’t want to answer those questions,” Anthony said. “I don’t even know what was said, to be honest with you. I just don’t even want to talk about that, what he’s talking about exactly. I want to stay away from that at this point. My focus is my teammates and winning. We’ve been playing great basketball, and that’s the only thing I’m focused on. Whatever Phil said, he said it. I have nothing to say about that.”

Though Carmelo was clearly a bit uncomfortable, there’s not much to discuss there. What has generated some discussion, though, is an odd Instagram post Melo put up Thursday afternoon.

The irony is clear: the more you say you don’t care about something, the more it seems you really do care.

Was Carmelo hurt? Possibly. It would make sense; he’s been a star in the NBA for a long time.

But again: this must have been intended to serve a purpose. Jackson played mind games with Jordan and Kobe, two of the greatest to ever lace them up. He’s won 11 NBA championships.

Does that mean he’s immune to criticism? Of course not. But let’s give him the benefit of the doubt.

The ball does need to keep moving for the Triangle to operate efficiently and ideally. Let’s wait and see how Carmelo performs through the rest of this year before we jump on the Zen Master for publicly disparaging his team’s best player.

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