ESPN analyst and 14-year NBA veteran Jon Barry breaks down the Knicks defensive struggles, their chances of a playoff run, and the red-hot Nuggets with The Post’s Justin Terranova.
Q: Is there anything you can pinpoint about the Knicks defensive struggles?
A: It’s a combination of a lot of things. Mike D’Antoni has never been a defensive coach. You go back to all his years in Phoenix; he doesn’t have a defensive philosophy. Then you make a trade and you lose three starters, (including) a 7-footer (Timofey Mozgov), and now you have guys playing minutes now that they weren’t all season long. That’s a very difficult transition. But you know what? They’ve proven they can do it. They had three games — Miami, New Orleans, Atlanta — where they held teams under 90 points. There is a capability of doing that. Now they have to find a way to keep it consistent and do it on a nightly basis.
Q: Is it up to the stars of this team — Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony — to lead by example defensively?
A: Carmelo has never been known as a defensive guy. And I’ve seen tremendous strides from Amar’e this season on the defensive end. He never really played much defense in Phoenix. It’s certainly not his fault that he was never really taught much defense in Phoenix. I’ve seen an effort there. I just don’t know if you have the correct personnel to do that.
Q: So you don’t see this team capable of making a serious playoff run?
A: Defense wins in the playoffs, and for them to think that they are just going to be able to go out there and outscore whoever they play is asking too much. There are too many pieces that have to be put around these guys, just like in Miami. The Heat have had a whole year and they are starting to turn it around now, but that’s 60 games into the season. The Knicks have done it for 12. For them to go into a playoff series with 25 games under their belt is going to be a lot to ask.
Q: Was the Anthony trade a mistake?
A: No, but they are back to Square One again. You go into the summer and there’s not as much depth or cap flexibility. So you have to take a step backwards to take a step forward. I don’t have any problem going after a star player.
Q: Why have the Nuggets been so successful since the deal?
A: They remind me of the 2004 Pistons. (They don’t have) a great player, but they go 10-11 deep of guys that are just good NBA players. For the guys who were there, I think there’s a great relief with Carmelo gone and there’s just a lot of freedom. Not that they didn’t like Carmelo, but the situation is cleared up.