Carmelo Anthony criticizes Knicks' coaching after latest close loss to Sixers

Melo says the team isn't making adjustments

New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony was understandably frustrated after the team’s 105-102 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday. It was the Knicks’ second loss in Philadelphia this season, and both of them coming down to the last possession. Anthony and his teammates have been saying they’re chasing the eighth seed, but making it to the postseason would now require a near-miracle -- New York is 25-37, 12th in the East and 4.5 games back of the eighth-place Detroit Pistons. 

Anthony, who scored 18 points on 5-for-18 shooting against the Sixers and missed a potential go-ahead jumper in the final few seconds, directed some of his anger toward coach Jeff Hornacek and his staff. He told reporters that the Knicks need to switch things up to counter what their opponents are doing. 

“We play the same way throughout the course of the game,’’ Anthony said, via the New York Post’s Marc Berman. “When teams make adjustments, we’re still playing the same way as teams make adjustments defensively.’’

There is no way to spin this other than a direct shot at either the coaching and/or the system. This is rare for Anthony, who has mostly dodged questions about the triangle offense this year and insisted over and over that the players just need to figure things out. This goes both ways, too -- when Anthony has taken criticism this season, sometimes even from team president Phil Jackson, Hornacek has always defended him, consistently refraining from calling him out for poor defense or poor shot selection.

I hesitate to call this a low point for New York’s season because of how much drama and insanity has surrounded the team. It’s certainly not a fun time to be a Knick, though.