MIAMI — Knicks center Tyson Chandler said he hopes to become a bigger offensive threat next season.
His season ended in the same visitor’s locker room at AmericanAirlines Arena as last season, but under much different circumstance. Last year, he was holding a bottle of champagne after helping the Mavericks over the Heat in The Finals.
Wednesday night he was faced with a first-round KO in five games after a seven-point, 11-board, four-block outing.
“I didn’t do everything I needed to make my teammates better,’’ Chandler said. “I want to come back be more of an offensive threat, making decisions on the pick-and-roll.”
The series started with Chandler barely able to perform because of the flu in Game 1 and he never regained full domination.
“Every game I was trying to find what my teammates needed,’’ Chandler said. “In the first game, I was obviously out of it. [And in the] second game, I was still battling. Every game after that, I tried to pick my spots and lead the team defensively and ultimately it wasn’t enough. I too have to look at mirror and say what can I do better for this team next season.’’
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LeBron James confirmed his communication with Carmelo Anthony during this first-round series was non-existent. Anthony said the other day he hadn’t heard from King James. They’ve been buddies for years and got extremely close during the lockout. They hugged at the buzzer last night.
“It’s the playoffs,’’ James said. “We’re going to compete at the highest level. Our friendship goes beyond basketball but during these games, there are no friends. I want the best for him. But I don’t want the best for him when he’s playing against us. That’s how it goes.’’
They can catch up soon. Anthony and James will be teammates this summer on Team USA, which will get together for training camp in early July and play in the London Olympics in late July/early August.
“This is the first opportunity I’ve had going against him in the postseason,’’ James said.
Anthony had struggled mightily in the first three games, shooting 34.5 percent before Sunday’s 41-point heroic performance that extended the series to a Game 5. He scored 35 points Wednesday night.
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According to Miami’s P.R. staff, the Knicks’ 94 points makes it their 40th straight game of scoring fewer than 100 in a postseason game. That’s an NBA record.