The New York Knicks have lost six in a row and eight of the last 10, and the bloom is off the feel-good story of Jeremy Lin's emergence as the starting point guard.
By Charles Rex Arboga, AP
New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony is having a rough time during the team's 2-8 slump.
By Charles Rex Arboga, AP
New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony is having a rough time during the team's 2-8 slump.
The slump coincides with a tougher schedule — and the return from injury of All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony and the addition of guards Baron Davis and J.R. Smith.
Anthony, who is having to adjust to less time with the ball in his hands, has averaged 19 points in his return vs. 22.3 before he suffered a groin injury.
Monday's 104-99 loss at the Chicago Bulls was particularly rough on Anthony, who was off by himself after the third quarter instead of joining the team huddle. That followed his benching in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 106-94 home loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Anthony, after Monday's loss, said he often doesn't join the huddle after being taken out. But he admitted he's unhappy and used the word "sucks" four times in his postgame remarks.
A sampling: "It sucks right now. It's hard to stay upbeat the way we're losing. Right now times are tough. I'm not going to get through it myself. It's late in the season. Our backs are against the wall."
The New York media is out in full throat speculating how long Coach Mike D'Antoni will survive. He continues to support Lin, who spurred the Knicks to a seven-game winning streak last month but has struggled along with the others to adjust to Anthony's return and the additions of guards Baron Davis and J.R. Smith.
"Whenever the psyche's not right, the point guard feels it the most and probably an inexperienced point guard's going to feel it a lot more," D'Antoni said of Lin before's Monday's loss. "But I like his game and think he'll be a lot better."
Here is a statistical breakdown of Lin's first eight starts vs. the next 10 with Anthony, Davis and Smith in the mix:
W-Lrecord: 7-1 vs. 2-8
Opponent W-L %: .419 vs. .563
Knicks' avg. pts. scored: 97.1 vs. 101.5
Knicks' avg. pts. allowed: 90.1 vs. 103.6
Games allowing 100 or more pts.: 0 vs. 7
Opponent avg. shot attempts: 79.9 vs. 86.4
Opponent FG %: 43.2% vs. 44.4%
Lin's avg. FG attempts: 17.8 vs. 13.9
Lin's FG %: 33.6% vs. 28.0%
Lin's avg. pts.: 25.0 vs. 16.2
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