For a brief time a little while back, there was a semblance of hope in New York. The Knicks had an explosive big man in Amar’e Stoudemire (prior to the peak of his knee issues), and a born scorer in Carmelo Anthony. According to Amar’e, however, that talent was wasted—due to the coaching staff’s inability to make it work.
Here’s more from the New York Post:
Amar’e Stoudemire, reflecting on his five-year Knicks career, said he wished his past coaches had used him and Carmelo Anthony more strategically, believing they could have blossomed.
Of course, his chronic knee issues were part of the reason the Stoudemire-Anthony connection did not lead to great things.
Stoudemire, now a member of the Heat who missed Monday’s game against the Knicks with the flu, also weighed in on last season’s disgrace, saying not enough players bought into the triangle system.
But before that, Stoudemire said he and Anthony wanted to run more pick-and-rolls in the two-man game but couldn’t get the coaches on board, probably referring to Mike D’Antoni and Mike Woodson.
“I don’t think we had enough opportunities to play together,’’ Stoudemire said in the Heat locker room Monday. “I moved to the bench and [became the] sixth, seventh man. When I was in the game, Melo, he was out of the game and vice versa. When we did play together, we showed some flashes of what we could do on the pick-and-roll.
“I don’t think that pick-and-roll offense between Melo and I was ever taken advantage of, which we could have. The way he shoots the ball, handles the ball from the outside and the way I attack the rim, it could’ve been a pretty good combination. I don’t think the coaching staff at the time really bought into that.’’
The Stoudemire-Anthony pairing never got past the second round of the playoffs in four springs together.
“At times we could’ve taken advantage of our opportunity a lot more,’’ said Stoudemire, who missed 110 games in his time with the Knicks. “It wasn’t up to Melo and I. It was up to the coaching staff to figure that part out. We could never get the right system to figure that part out.’’
