Carmelo Anthony: New York Knicks are playing to lose
The New York Knicks may never win another game. Fine, we won’t go that far, but a team that was once considered a contender in the Eastern Conference is now 3-13 and has lost its last nine games. They have lost seven in a row at home during that span, which is one of those franchise records that every player hopes they will never be a part of.
The Knicks almost snapped their losing streak on Friday night against the Denver Nuggets, but instead lost 97-95. They lost another close one to the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday by a score of 103-99. Carmelo Anthony seems to be running out of answers.
“I think we’re playing to lose rather than playing to win right now,” Anthony said on Sunday, via ESPNNewYork.com. “When you lose games the way we’ve been losing them at home, on the road, you start thinking a lot. You start playing a little tense, you start playing on your heels.”
What ‘Melo probably meant is “playing to not lose” rather than playing to win. That would make perfect sense, because the Knicks have to be thinking about their embarrassing losing streak every time they take the floor.
“We just can’t seem to get it together,” Anthony added. “We can’t seem to figure it out.”
At one point during the loss to the Pelicans, Knicks guard Iman Shumpert appeared to be having a disagreement with Anthony on the bench over a defensive breakdown. Beyond the Buzzer shared a video of the exchange with us:
It goes without saying that the Knicks desperately need a win. They can turn off Monday Night Football in the locker room and have as many players-only meetings as they want, but nothing is going to take the pressure off like a win could. The season is far from over. The problem is that next win just seems impossible to come by for New York at the moment.
