NBA

Greg Anthony: Patience for Nets, panic for Knicks

NBA TV/Turner analyst Greg Anthony explains who is in worse shape the Knicks or the Nets to The Post’s Justin Terranova. Anthony will be calling the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament for TruTV on Friday and Saturday. 

Q: Who do you think is in bigger trouble: Knicks or Nets?
A: The Nets don’t really have a trust built in or an identity, so that takes time. Couple that with the fact that the guys they are going to rely on for big roles in the postseason, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, aren’t built for that in the regular season anymore. They don’t have to be overly worried about it, yet. … It’s a little different scenario for the Knicks, who have to be more concerned with how they are playing. They are dealing with injuries, as well, but the way they are playing is more of an issue. They have guys that they have relied on in the past who are not playing up to that level.

Q: Do you mean Carmelo Anthony?
A: Everyone’s part of the problem, he’d tell you that. He hasn’t played the way he’d like to play in order for him to succeed. But Raymond Felton and J.R. Smith have to play infinitely better. That’s paramount because the other guys flow off them. Those guys got to figure it out. They don’t have (Tyson) Chandler right now, and they are going to need him big time.

Q: Are the Knicks just not that good a team this year?
A: I think they are better than what they are playing and I think they will be better. Having said that, I don’t think they are part of that elite class. Even when things are going well for them they are a notch below the elites.

Q: Is trading Iman Shumpert the answer, or at least part of it?
A: It all depends on who you are moving him for. They don’t really have any energy or athleticism on their front line. Right now, this is not where they want to be. They are struggling with their confidence and I’d be concerned where they are at right now with Carmelo’s free agency hanging in the balance.

Q: What does Jason Kidd have to do to turn Nets around?
A: For any head coach, you are coming into a situation where you are going to try and put a system in that matches your personnel. Then your personnel have to trust in that system. I think because he has such great leadership in a Garnett and Pierce there’s no sense of urgency or panic, but it’s tough for them right now. They really haven’t had a stretch where they could play well.