Carmelo Anthony challenges Knicks coaches: Hold me accountable
There's something weird going on inside the Knicks' locker room.
Strong teams tend to have a system of checks and balances. No matter how good you are, no matter how high on the food chain, there's a higher authority to call you out on whatever mistake or issues you might make or have.
That's why we talk about the Spurs leadership being so great, right? It's that Gregg Popovich can yell at Tim Duncan all he wants, which forces younger or incoming guys to say, "Wow, if Timmy lets Pop chew him up like that I sure as heck can't say anything when coach speaks like that to me."
It's a system that works. But apparently, that isn't how the Knicks have been doing things. And Carmelo Anthony actually called the team out on it.
Here's more from ESPN's Ian Begley:
It seems admirable for Anthony to say that he essentially wants to be treated like anyone else on the team . . . but what in the world was going on before? Was 'Melo just coasting on one half of the floor and then continuing that lax attitude into the locker room?
What could film sessions have looked like? "I'm not quite sure why we had this defensive breakdown here. It appears the point guard just dribbled straight to the hoop. Everyone was hustling, though."
Anthony has been unfairly pinned as a lacking teammate. You'll be hard-pressed to find a guy he's played with who doesn't speak fondly about him. And it's by no means fully on Anthony, but this one is weird. It speaks to the authority that's possibly lacking at the top of the Knicks' locker room.
This should be Fisher having a private conversation with Anthony — something like, "Hey, we're going to call you out more in front of the team this year. We feel like we need it to build a stronger core. Absolutely don't take it personally. Just know it's important." Instead, it's the other way around.