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For years, Carmelo Anthony has been labelled as a “ball stopper”. Whether just or not, the New York Knicks’ new guidance under Jeff Hornacek sees that as something that has to change.
To be fair on Anthony, he wasn’t always blessed with a deep supporting cast. But now, the lineup that he’s part of may arguably be his most talented team in recent memory.
As such, coach Jeff Hornacek wants to maximize the weapons in the Knicks’ artillery and showcase his best player’s other under-appreciated skills, via ESPN’s Ian Begley.
“We’re hoping that the level of talent that is on the team will lead to him not thinking, ‘I have to do everything. He’s a great passer. He’s made great passes in some of these games that we’ve seen. I think when he has that trust in his teammates, he’s going to make those passes, and we’re going to get easy buckets.”
Team president Phil Jackson is in agreeance with the team’s new coach.
“A lot of times he has a penchant to take the ball himself up the court and slow the play down, the development down, by pushing the ball up the court himself or taking the inbound pass. Those are some of the small things that we asked to look at and maybe we could change. With the outstanding guard corps that we have — Derrick Rose and Brandon Jennings, guys who can really push the ball at a certain level — I think he’s going to be much more comfortable allowing them to do what they’re best at.”
The Knicks are a cinch to make the playoffs, barring anything major unforeseen things happening. They’re that good on paper.
When the season starts, New York will be the among the team that will be under the microscope most often as they build chemistry on the fly. But the bigger question is whether Carmelo Anthony can still transform his game even at this mature point in his career.
