Struggling Melo on his shot: 'I know it'll come back'

By foxsports
Published

Carmelo Anthony has been far from impressive as a shooter to start the season, which may be disconcerting to some considering the Knicks' best player is still recovering from knee surgery.

Anthony's season ended after the All-Star break last year because of issues with his knee, and though he's healthy now, his stats aren't exactly showing it. Through five games, Melo is shooting less than 37 percent from the field and just 32 percent from three. Of course, that's a small sample size, and he has had some dominant performances in there, including his 37-point output against the Wizards last weekend.

That said, the shots just aren't going into the hoop. Still, Melo isn't worried. From ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk:

“It’s not really frustrating,” Anthony told reporters after the game. “I know it’ll come back. Those shots that I’m taking are shots that I normally make, so I’m not too concerned about that. But yeah, I do want them to go in. But I wouldn’t say it’s getting frustrating.”

If only Anthony could play Jared Dudley more often. Anthony’s best game thus far was against Dudley and the Washington Wizards, who watched the Knicks All-Star explode for 37 points while shooting 11-of-18 overall and 4-of-5 from behind the arc.

Fueled by Dudley’s comments in May that Anthony is overrated, the Knicks' forward shot like vintage Melo in that game.

Outside of that game on Halloween, though, Anthony is shooting only 24-of-78 (30.7 percent) overall in his four other games, well below his career shooting percentage of 45.4.

Anthony is still averaging 21.8 points per game, and the Knicks have been playing solid basketball, getting off to a 2-3 start, but sticking with the Hawks, Cavaliers and Spurs (all of whom won 50-plus games a season ago) in each of their three losses. Anthony shot especially poorly during the Spurs and Cavs games. If he shoots better, maybe the Knicks actually come away with wins in one or both of them.