The mental state of the Knicks is now a bigger issue than their physical state. Tyson Chandler’s broken leg obviously set the club back, but it’s way more than that now.
The Knicks have forgotten how to win, as evidenced in their late meltdown Sunday against the Pelicans. Mike Woodson alluded to it and Carmelo Anthony said it. They are getting tight in close games down the stretch. There were three straight turnovers, even more defensive breakdowns on the pick-and-roll and five straight missed 3-pointers to close out the contest.
“I think right now we have a couple days off and we just need to get our mental right,” Anthony said. “Everybody just needs to fix their mental status.”
There is no worse time to face the Brooklyn Nets, going into Thursday’s intracity matchup with a nine-game losing streak. For now, the Knicks are tied with the Bucks in the Eastern Conference basement at 3-13.
For the second straight game, Anthony came up small down the stretch. After missing the potential game-tying shot in Denver, Anthony’s streak of bad luck in the final minute continued when his 3-pointer went in and out with the Knicks down 3 with 18.9 seconds left. He’s now 1-for-his-last-16 on shots that could tie or win a game in the final 30 seconds.
Before the game, Mike Woodson said he still wants the ball in Anthony’s hands in those last possessions, but sent a message that he hoped Anthony would pass out to a teammate if he’s doubled or doesn’t have a good look. Problem is, Anthony is trusting his teammates less and less this season – including J.R. Smith.
Entering the New Orleans game, Anthony had one assist in the prior two games, covering 80 minutes of action. He seems mentally battered at this point, lamenting the “special bond’’ last season’s team had. Anthony has said more than once this year’s squad has “no chemistry.’’ A lot of players are gone whom Anthony liked, right down to defensive small forward James White, whose option was not picked up. Instead, their 15th man, Chris Smith, is playing in the D-League.
Iman Shumpert and Anthony got along swell last season, but it didn’t look it on the bench during a third-quarter timeout. Shumpert railed at Anthony while Anthony sat on the bench. Shumpert called it a “miscommunication’’ on defense with some surmising Anthony hasn’t been calling out the assignment on picks. Indeed, the lack of communication on the defensive end is where Chandler is missed most.
Woodson benched Shumpert for the fourth quarter, instead riding the hot hand of Tim Hardaway Jr. and the erratic play of Smith. Shumpert had shown a lot of energy in the first three quarters, but Woodson wouldn’t pull the trigger.
“I don’t think it’s a lot of big things,’’ Raymond Felton said. “It was a lot of minor things. A turnover here, a turnover there at the wrong moment. A bad switch here, a bad switch there that gives up a 3. Things you don’t pay attention to but hurt you in a course of a game.’’
Finally, it’s rare a player can have as bad a defensive game as Andrea Bargnani had and still log six blocks. There’s so much pressure on him without Chandler, and he gets lost in switching on pick-and-rolls. He has no lateral quickness and looks like a statue when guarding quick guards on switches. It’s time for Woodson to change up some of the defensive rotations to take advantage of Bargnani’s strength as a low-post defender. Teams are attacking the Knicks at their weakness.
None of this bodes well for Woodson’s future. Anthony seemed to be crying out that with three days off the Knicks need to make some changes – whatever they may be.
“We have to get together and do something and figure it out as a team,’’ Anthony said. “I don’t know what we have to do to come together a group, sit in here for hours and talk, but we got to do something.’’
Anthony said during last week’s road trip the club was in a “dark space.’’
Asked about that idea on Sunday, he said, “I don’t plan on getting to that place. We are losing. It’s not a good feeling, it’s a bad feeling. As far as getting to that dark place, I don’t want to get to that place.”
They are already there.