Carmelo Anthony and Amare` Stoudemire`s woes in the post season have New York Knicks reeling – NBA Update
Even though Carmelo Anthony carried much of the weight for the New York Knicks in the closing stages of the season and got the honours of being named the ‘Player of the Month’ for April to show for it, but in
the crunch time of the Playoffs, Anthony has been unable to provide much against the impressive showing by the likes of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.
After going down 3-0 against the Miami Heat in the first round series, Knicks have slumped down to having the worst losing streak of 13 games in the playoffs dating back to 2001.
When the playoffs started, many would have expected the Knicks to offer a tough matchup to the surging Heat, however that has not been the case so far.
Knicks have been slammed with this fate courtesy of their players lack of showing in the post season, the most prominent being Amare` Stoudemire, who was also absent from last year’s sweep by the Boston Celtics.
And this year has gotten himself injured after punching a glass after the Game 2 loss in Miami.
Even Miami players think of Stoudemire as a major part of the Knicks team and considered his presence on the court a valuable contribution for the side from the ‘Big Apple’
“They played some of their best ball in April when Amar'e was not in the lineup," said James. "They're a great team with Amar'e on the floor as well. With or without him, they are a great team. They are just
more powerful with him on the floor."
However blame cannot be put on Stoudemire but the lacklustre performance by the rest of New York players who have failed to make much of an impression in the series so far. Anthony contemplated on the matter
by saying "the guys that are out there playing got to play."
Anthony who shot the ball 7-23 to rack up 22 points in Game 3, however his lack of scoring was overshadowed by the other two All-Stars on the court but they wore the Miami colours. James and Wade combined together
for 29 points in the second half whereas the entire Knicks team managed to get 30 points in that frame.
Such has been the dominance of the duo that one of them can help the other player out when facing situations like the foul trouble James faced in the third quarter of the match. With James absent, Wade kept the
Heat in the game by recording 12 points in the third period.
James returned in the fourth quarter to finally put the game beyond their hosts reach by recording 17 points in that frame to hand a pounding to the struggling Knicks.
Even though the duo of James and Wade is regarded as one of the best one-two combination in the NBA as the present themselves to be a formidable force for their opponents and Tyson Chandler, the Defensive player
of the Year gives them their due by acknowledging the fact that these two cane take over any game at any time.
“You have to give them credit, We fought hard tonight and they just beat us." – Chandler
Emphasis being on the one-two combination, Melo has surely missed the presence of Amare` alongside him who even playing in the first two games was not much of a force to be reckoned with but Anthony`s showing
in the post season have not been that impressive either. He has shot the ball 36.6% in the three games so far and this lack of dominance from their All-Stars can be considered as one of the main reasons behind Knicks slumping performances in the Playoffs.
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