When New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler opened up to Frank Isola of The Daily News that the Knicks were hurting themselves with poor ball movement and not enough passing, star forward Carmelo Anthony seemed to bristle at the comments.
Chandler didn't name names, but it certainly read like a shot at Anthony and the struggling Sixth Man of the Year J.R. Smith. Chandler made note that the selfishness he was seeing was not "malicious" but rather players trying to help the team in any way possible, and assuming the burden individually.
The Knicks said they addressed the matter before Tuesday night's crucial Game 4 in Indiana, but the results continued to be the same; the Knicks fell 93-82, Anthony and Smith chucked up 45 of New York's 87 shots, and the team fell in a 3-1 hole.
Chandler had his best game of the series, putting up 12 points and 10 rebounds, but the Knicks were done in by poor shooting from the outside, which is not surprising since Indiana's specialty is harassing perimeter scorers with Paul George and Lance Stephenson.
Of New York's 87 shots, Anthony, Smith and Raymond Felton, who shot a combined 38 percent in the loss, took 61. Smith, who played despite suffering from the flu, hit just 3-of-10 shots from behind the 3-point line, and despite clearly being out of rhythm continued to shoot. The Knicks are averaging 15 assists per game as a team this postseason, dead last of the 16 teams that qualified per NBA.com.
Anthony is putting on a brave face, saying after the game, "It's do or die, we got to win the next game. But there's no need for anyone to hang their heads at this point. We've still got a game to play, we've still got to play basketball and we've got to do it being very confident and knowing and believing that we can do it."
Unless the Knicks adjust their style, though, the Pacers are likely to move on the Eastern Conference finals.
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