During the New York Knicks‘ loss to the Orlando Magic on Monday night, one play became much talked about when Carmelo Anthony called his own number while the shot clock was winding down.
It may seem just like a regular Knicks play, but the camera caught Jeff Hornacek walking away and appearing fed up with the amount of isolation his All-Star forward asks for in games.
Melo calls his own number…
Jeff Hornacek (upper left hand corner of the video) seems annoyed and turns his back and walks away… pic.twitter.com/TOSDqb2CPV
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) January 3, 2017
Although the Knicks head coach admitted that running an isolation in those kinds of situations is already predictable, he made it clear that he walked away not because he was upset with Anthony but out of familiarity. He even said that he only needed to see how the crowd reacts to find out if the shot went in or not.
“I think he was just waving the pick away. So the pick and roll is coming so he waved it away and I knew what was going to happen. He was going to get that shot at the end of the quarter. I'd done that before. (I'm thinking), ‘did the crowd roar or not roar?' That would tell me whether it goes in or out.”
“I don't have to watch the play. Melo's going to get the shot.”
This is certainly not a good development for the franchise who are also in the midst of a six-game losing streak, dropping their record to 16-19 for the season.
Frustrations are starting to creep in and they continue to build-up for the Knicks. If they want to turn around their fortunes, they'll have to act fast and start winning soon as they are beginning to lose their grip on a chance at a playoff spot which they comfortably had just two weeks ago.