The New York Knicks season is effectively over, with the team eliminated from playoff contention. For unknown reasons, however, the team has continued to do everything it can to win a few extra wins, including giving massive numbers of minutes to its veterans.
In addition to starting a backcourt of Jose Calderon and Sasha Vujacic, Knicks head coach Kurt Rambis is playing star forward Carmelo Anthony nearly 38 minutes per game in March. With Anthony near 32 years old, that seems like an unwise decision.
According to a report from Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN, Anthony himself has recently spoken with team veterans as well as Rambis about changing this philosophy:
Carmelo Anthony told reporters that he approached other veterans and then Kurt Rambis about giving more minutes to younger players for the rest of the season to develop guys like rookie Jerian Grant. “Those guys need to play, especially right now,” Anthony said according to reports. “… You can practice and do drills and one-on-one things all day long but you only get that experience by playing in an actual game. I think it’s good for them, it’s good for the morale of the team, it’s good for their confidence. Because sometimes in a situation like this, you can lose your confidence. And that’s something we don’t want.”
Melo has been criticized for many things during his long career, including his leadership and desire to win. This report suggests the exact opposite.
Anthony seems to understand that he is getting older and is no longer in the prime of his career where he could carry the load offensively. Similarly, he has an understanding of the need for the Knicks to develop the few young players that they have on the roster in order to be competitive in the next few seasons.
Experience is extremely valuable for guys like Kristaps Porzingis, Jerian Grant, and Langston Galloway, all of whom are young, talented players who can have big roles in New York in the coming years. In order to turn things around quickly, the Knicks need these players to develop into consistent contributors.
Rambis has not shown the desire or the understanding needed to give more playing time to the future of the Knicks. However, with Carmelo Anthony now speaking to him (and proclaiming publicly), there is pressure on the head coach to change that. There are only a handful of games left for the Knicks but they need to give all the experience they can to their youth in these next two weeks of the regular season.
