The Knicks have been on an absolute tear since firing Mike D'Antoni last week — winning their last three games in blowout fashion.
If you watched even two minutes of any of these games, a few things are clear:
- The team is playing with renewed sense of joy.
- Amar'e Stoudemire is giving maximum effort on the defensive end — something that was sorely lacking under D'Antoni.
- Carmelo Anthony is bouncing around the court with an energy we haven't seen him since he was first traded to NY last season.
Even 'Melo himself implicitly admitted that he wasn't playing hard before the D'Antoni firing, telling Newsday yesterday, "I think in the last three games, my focus was to have an energy that I haven't had so far this season, especially on the defensive end."
We're pretty sure focusing on having "energy that I haven't had so far this season" means "I started trying."
So if it hasn't been clear already, it looks like Carmelo had some serious problems with D'Antoni. As a result, he was unable to properly motivate himself. Hence he sulked his way through the season while his team collapsed.
But now that D'Antoni is gone, he feels like playing hard again, which is maddening and annoying if you're a Knicks fan. But better late than never, we guess.
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See Also:
- The New York Knicks Will Be Just As Awful Under Interim Coach Mike Woodson
- NEW YORK POST: Linsanity Is Dead
- SPORTS CHART OF THE DAY: Linsanity Is Coming Back Down To Earth