Carmelo Antony needs someone to step up. The 2013 season of the New York Knicks continues to sputter on and off after a loss to the Boston Celtics followed by a win over the Atlanta Hawks. Anthony appears to be the only one able to produce on the court and as trade rumors swirl around several of his teammates, the free agent to be is calling people out to work past the distractions.
Anthony is the Knicks' MVP right now. While the team is not winning much, the forward is doing all that he can with what he has to work with and he is tired of teammates always looking towards him when games get tight.
"We all have to step up to those challenges. It's not every night I'm going to bail us out. We should know that," Anthony said, via ESPNNewYork.com. "[Sometimes], they're just looking for me to make something happen. We've got to get away from that. We've got to get better at that. We will."
Anthony has a point. JR Smith is off to a disappointing start from his Sixth Man of the Year 2012. He is averaging just 10.4 points per game, a drop from 18.1 last season. Iman Shumpert has seen the same drop off, putting up just eight points in his last two games. The supporting cast simply is not there and Anthony needs that to change.
"I believe in [my teammates] just as much as they believe in me. They've got to know that," Anthony said. "They've got to believe that and they've got to play ball coming down the stretch, too."
ESPN Stats and Information offers a summarizing statistic to back Anthony's cry for help/ Last year, all Knicks players not named Anthony shot a combined 44.1 percent from the floor. This season, those players are combining for a 42.6 shooting percentage. Last year, those players combined for 75.8 percent of New York's total points. This year, they are only putting up 70.6 percent of New York's points. Anthony is more important than ever.
Smith and Shumpert have had their names brought up in numerous trade rumors throughout the season. With injuries to Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton, the Knicks are left searching for health and depth to assist in fixing the team's issues. Anthony is concerned that those reports are becoming a distraction, while head coach Mike Woodson says players just need to simply step up to the challenge.
"J.R. and Iman [Shumpert], I just got to keep working with them and got to pat them a little more and then get them back because I need them desperately to pick it up and play," Woodson said.
