Chandler critical of Knicks after Game 3 defeat to the Indiana Pacers.
New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony revealed on Monday that he will speak to team-mate Tyson Chandler after comments he made after their Game 3 defeat to the Indiana Pacers.
The Knicks center criticised the lack of ball movement from his team in Indianapolis, suggesting that players were falling into a habit of playing in isolation and making shots for themselves rather than playing collectively.
Without naming either Anthony or J.R. Smith specifically as being guilty of being perhaps selfish in their approach, Chandler believes the Knicks must go back to their regular season strategy and get everyone involved where they can be devastating from three point range.
It became a hallmark of Mike Woodson’s team during a season where they finished as runners-up in the Eastern Conference to the Miami Heat. While there is no denying that both Anthony and Smith are talented individuals, the Knicks appeared to excel when the responsibility was shared.
“I watched the tape myself and there’s open looks. We have to be willing passers. You have to sacrifice yourself sometimes for the betterment of the team, for the betterment of your team-mates,” he told reporters according to ESPN.
“We need to do a better job of allowing the game to dictate who takes the shots and not the individuals. I’m not saying anybody is doing it maliciously. I think it’s moreso a situation, you want to take over the game or want to make a big shot.
“Good teams win basketball games. Unless you’re a great, great great individual, and we’ve only had a few of those come through,” he added.
Both Anthony and Smith have struggled in recent games with their shooting, and have been criticised in some quarters for their lack of distribution and reliance on one-on-one plays.
However, Carmelo has quashed rumours of grumblings within the Knicks camp and believes that they are all on “the same page”.
“I really don’t want to go back and forth about that because I really don’t know exactly what he was talking about. But if he feels that way, we’re about to get together right now. We’ll discuss that amongst ourselves and figure that out,” Anthony said after practice on Monday.
The Knicks travel to the Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Tuesday night for Game 4 hoping to avoid slipping further behind in the series. Should they lose, they will face a big task in turning around a 3-1 deficit.
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