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When the New York Knicks hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night, it marked the first visit of LeBron James at Madison Square Garden following the controversial “posse” comment Phil Jackson made towards him. It turned out to be a one-sided affair as the Cavs blew out the Knicks, 126-94.
A day prior to the game, Jackson publicly criticized his team's star forward, Carmelo Anthony, and called him out for holding onto the ball longer than what the team agreed on and also explained how he can play a similar role like the two basketball greats he coached before.
“He can play that role that Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant played. That's a perfect spot for him, to be in that isolated position on the weak side. Because it's an overload offense and there's a weak-side man that always has an advantage if the ball is swung.
“Carmelo, a lot of times, wants to hold the ball longer than — we have a rule, if you hold a pass two seconds, you benefit the defense. So he has a little bit of a tendency to hold the ball for three, four, five seconds, then everybody comes to a stop. That is one of the things we work with. But he has adjusted to it, he knows what it can do and he's willing to see its success.”
Asked to give his thoughts after the game about the Knicks' president's comments on him, Anthony kept mum and refused to further discuss it.
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“I don’t even know what was said. I just don’t want to get into it. I just don’t want to even talk about that, what he’s talking about exactly. I want to stay away from that at this point. My focus is my teammates and winning and playing great basketball. That’s the only thing I’m focused on. Whatever Phil said, he said it, I have nothing to say about that.”
https://youtu.be/LmtDtQq5s28
Just last month, the Knicks had a players' and coaches' meeting together with Jackson which turned out to be productive according to Anthony. However, one thing that stood out was when he said that the veteran front office executive just listened to them and kept quiet throughout the session.
If there's one thing certain at this point, Jackson has been causing a lot of controversy and displease with comments he has been making. It will be worth monitoring how Anthony will respond and play in the future after being given some critique by his team's president.
