Monday, January 30, 2012
Carmelo Anthony: Knicks back coach
By Ian Begley
Special to ESPNNewYork.com

GREENBURGH, NY -- The New York Knicks have lost nine of their last 10, leading to questions about coach Mike D'Antoni's job status.

But, according to Carmelo Anthony, D'Antoni's job security isn't an issue inside the Knicks' locker room.

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"Anytime teams are losing, that's the first thing that comes to mind, the coach. But we don't talk about that," Anthony said on Monday. "We support Mike 100 percent. He's here with us, we're here with him, and we're going to roll with that."

D'Antoni was asked if he was concerned about his job status two days after the Knicks fell to 7-13 with a 13-point loss in Houston.

"My focus right now is trying to get us to win. And I think every player, we just want to try to win. Worry about how the chips fall? We can't do that," said D'Antoni, who is in the final year of a four-year contract.

The Knicks lost three of four in their four-games-in-five-nights road trip last week. When they return home on Tuesday against the Pistons, New York may not have Anthony, who is doubtful due to an ankle injury. The game against the Pistons is a warmup for the Knicks' set of back-to-back-to-back games, which starts at home on Thursday against Chicago.

"We've got to try to win by any means right now," Amare Stoudemire said. "We don't want to get too far behind to where we've got to dig out of a deep hole. We have a deep enough hole as it is now. So we've got to find ways to get wins."

After getting to 6-4, the Knicks lost six straight -- four of which were at home. They then dropped three of four on the road last week, leading to speculation about D'Antoni's job security.

The team is a mess offensively, which is widely considered to be D'Antoni's strong suit.

The Knicks entered play Monday ranked 24th in offensive efficiency, scoring 95.4 points per 100 possessions.

Anthony has struggled with his shot, going 40-for-126 in his last six games while playing through injury. The star small forward doesn't seem to fit into D'Antoni's system. The coach's offense is at its most effective when there is continuous ball movement in an effort to find an open shot. Anthony, on the other hand, is among the league leaders in isolation plays during his time on the floor.

The Knicks also haven't found a suitable replacement for Chauncey Billups at point guard.

Billups was amnestied to create enough cap room to sign free agent Tyson Chandler. The team is hoping Baron Davis can help turn things around, but the 32-year-old point guard has yet play a game for New York due to a back injury.

As for players who are healthy, Stoudemire is struggling through one of the worst stretches of his career. He's shooting 43 percent from the field and averaging just 17.7 points per game. Last season, his first in New York, Stoudemire averaged 25.3 points on 50 percent shooting.

With Stoudemire leading the way, the Knicks were 28-26 in mid-February and seemed to be headed in the right direction. But they sent Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, Timofey Mozgov and others away in the Anthony trade, robbing the team and D'Antoni of several pieces that fit his system.

New York is 21-31 (including the playoffs) since the Anthony trade and enters play Monday in tenth place in the Eastern Conference.

"It's not a great feeling. The whole purpose of playing here is to contend for a championship," Stoudemire said. "And right now we're not ... on that track right now to contend so we've just got to keep getting better."

But Stoudemire said none of the players are concerned about D'Antoni losing his job.

"We don't feed into it. Our job is to go out there and try to perform and try to win. Our goal is to play hard," he said. "We don't really get into the he said she said stuff."

Ian Begley is a regular contributor to ESPNNewYork.com.

I DONT FREAKING CARE WHAT YOU THINK, GUYS!

I care about how you play. I care about how you show its not really the coach's fault because you do what he asks and play better doing so.

I don't care anymore about Melo, Amar'e, D'antoni nor any other individual. Its about NY, about the Knicks, and we always seem to turn any good vibe into ridiculous turmoil and bad play. Its so freaking tiring.

Teams have gone from contenders to lottery teams. Viceversa. The Knicks. Same turmoil, different year. Im tired! Have some freaking pride in yourself, in the city, in the team! Stop talking isht and start playing well!

Freaking win!

loweyecue wrote:

nykshaknbake wrote:It's rare that players pubically say we don't back the coach and much more common that they say they do.

And your point is?

Haha! I thought I was have another bout of dislexia

as craig carton would say... alright.

Fire him and move on.

nykshaknbake wrote:It's rare that players publicly say we don't back the coach and much more common that they say they do.

+1 I'd be more surprised if he said "yeah, we've all given up on D'Antoni and we're just waiting for the ax to fall."

loweyecue wrote:First there was sheer conjecture based on no substance whatever. Then Melo affirms he supports the coach. So of course the same people now think it means the coach has no real support. Excellent analysis. Capital!

You guys would do Marc Berman proud.

Amar'e Stoudemire wants Mike D'Antoni back, Carmelo Anthony less forceful in praise of Knicks coach
BY EBENEZER SAMUEL
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Monday, April 25, 2011
Carmelo Anthony won't complain if Mike D'Antoni returns to coach the Knicks next season. Then again, Melo wouldn't mind if he had a new coach, either.

Less than 24 hours after the Knicks were swept out of the playoffs by the Celtics, Anthony was noncommittal when discussing D'Antoni's future. Following an exit interview with D'Antoni and team president Donnie Walsh Monday in Greenburgh, Anthony said D'Antoni had earned his "respect."

But Melo hardly seemed concerned that a possible coaching change could stunt the Knicks' progress.

I support whatever decision is made," he added later. "If Mike is here, I got his back 100%. If Donnie's here I got his back 100%."

Anthony's stance on D'Antoni could prove to be an important one, because he is planning to be heavily involved in personnel decisions this summer. He first mentioned that idea on Sunday and he reiterated it Monday, saying that since he and Amar'e Stoudemire are the "faces of the organization," they should play key roles in deciding its direction.

"Why not? I'm gonna be the guy they have to go out there and play with," Anthony said. "So why not have some input in who we want?"

Anthony wants to win now. He said the Knicks could be a 50-win team next season and said that being the "top team in the East" was his other key goal. He added that New York is now a prime destination for free agents. Much like Miami, standout players will sign with the Knicks for less to be part of a contender.

"You just hear it," he said. "You could be playing against guys (who say it). I mean everybody wants to play in New York right now."

But D'Antoni may not fit Anthony's vision. While Stoudemire referred to D'Antoni as "a phenomenal coach" and said he "had fun" playing for the offensive guru, Anthony could only praise D'Antoni's patience.

"I only can speak on when I got here," he said. "I think he's been very patient due to the circumstances. We came a long way, especially when I first got here, with the expectations being so high so quickly ... you've got to take your hat off to Mike for being able to handle a situation like that."

CrushAlot wrote:

loweyecue wrote:First there was sheer conjecture based on no substance whatever. Then Melo affirms he supports the coach. So of course the same people now think it means the coach has no real support. Excellent analysis. Capital!

You guys would do Marc Berman proud.

I think the base less conjecture that you speak of actually goes back to Melo's exit interview after the Celts swept the Knicks.

Amar'e Stoudemire wants Mike D'Antoni back, Carmelo Anthony less forceful in praise of Knicks coach
BY EBENEZER SAMUEL
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Monday, April 25, 2011
Carmelo Anthony won't complain if Mike D'Antoni returns to coach the Knicks next season. Then again, Melo wouldn't mind if he had a new coach, either.

Less than 24 hours after the Knicks were swept out of the playoffs by the Celtics, Anthony was noncommittal when discussing D'Antoni's future. Following an exit interview with D'Antoni and team president Donnie Walsh Monday in Greenburgh, Anthony said D'Antoni had earned his "respect."

But Melo hardly seemed concerned that a possible coaching change could stunt the Knicks' progress.

I support whatever decision is made," he added later. "If Mike is here, I got his back 100%. If Donnie's here I got his back 100%."

Anthony's stance on D'Antoni could prove to be an important one, because he is planning to be heavily involved in personnel decisions this summer. He first mentioned that idea on Sunday and he reiterated it Monday, saying that since he and Amar'e Stoudemire are the "faces of the organization," they should play key roles in deciding its direction.

"Why not? I'm gonna be the guy they have to go out there and play with," Anthony said. "So why not have some input in who we want?"

Anthony wants to win now. He said the Knicks could be a 50-win team next season and said that being the "top team in the East" was his other key goal. He added that New York is now a prime destination for free agents. Much like Miami, standout players will sign with the Knicks for less to be part of a contender.

"You just hear it," he said. "You could be playing against guys (who say it). I mean everybody wants to play in New York right now."

But D'Antoni may not fit Anthony's vision. While Stoudemire referred to D'Antoni as "a phenomenal coach" and said he "had fun" playing for the offensive guru, Anthony could only praise D'Antoni's patience.

"I only can speak on when I got here," he said. "I think he's been very patient due to the circumstances. We came a long way, especially when I first got here, with the expectations being so high so quickly ... you've got to take your hat off to Mike for being able to handle a situation like that."

http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-04-25/sports/29494402_1_amar-e-stoudemire-mike-d-antoni-knicks

People see what they want to see. Nothing Melo SAID suggested he had turned against the coach. The author made whatever conjecture he saw fit.