The New York Knicks have been struggling immensely as of late. They had lost six contests in a row until the streak was snapped with a 116-111 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks last night. Even after the victory, the Knicks have huge issues to address as they have underperformed greatly this season, sitting outside the Eastern Conference playoff picture with a 17-19 record.
The player under the most scrutiny during this most recent Knicks slump has been star forward Carmelo Anthony. He has voiced his frustration previously with how the Knicks are playing and today he revealed a beat up shoulder could be the culprit behind his inconsistent play recently. Following from Stefan Bondy of the NYDaily News:
As the Knicks try to recover their season, Carmelo Anthony is determined to fight through a weakened shooting shoulder that he understands will be a hindrance for as long as he resists rest.
Anthony explained to the Daily News that the injury is easily aggravated during games, and it’s been that way ever since a bruise first occurred while diving for a loose ball on Dec. 11 against the Lakers. Basically the last four weeks have been a daily struggle to manage the discomfort.
“It’s bad,” Anthony told the News after Friday’s victory over the Bucks, when the forward nearly put up a triple-double and hit the go-ahead basket in the final minute. “You know what it is, it’s an adjustment that you have to make on the fly. Like some days it feels good, some days it’s tight. Throughout the course of the game, certain shots, certain moves, you feel like the strength isn’t there. So it’s just a matter of figuring out how to play through it. What’s working? What’s not?
Anthony has been facing criticism recently for his tendency to play more isolation basketball and his low shooting percentages. The banged up shoulder is certainly an issue, as not only is it on his shooting shoulder but Anthony also stated that it requires “constant around-the-clock treatment.”
Anthony’s injury has added to an already long list of concerns for Phil Jackson and his New York Knicks. The roster hasn’t exactly meshed the way the organization expected and this latest news regarding Melo’s health has to bring more adversity to the team while they claw to get back into postseason position as we approach the midway point of the campaign.
