The New York Knicks started the season as one of the hottest teams in the East. They had a tremendous December, winning the NBA Cup against the Spurs and pulling off some miraculous comebacks, including a statement win against the Cavaliers on Christmas Day when they came back from 17 points down. Now, it all seems to be unraveling, and Carmelo Anthony, a legend of the franchise, knows just the reason why.
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The Knicks are losers of four straight, and while they are missing Josh Hart and were without KAT for a loss to the Hawks, there is no guarantee the big center would have helped anyway. The team’s latest loss to the first-place Detroit Pistons was a massacre, 121-90. Aside from Jalen Brunson, it seemed that no one showed up for New York in any way.
The NBA season is long, so it is common for a team to dip. But the lack of explosive offense does raise some questions, and there was no one better to ask than Anthony. Melo pointed out New York’s biggest flaws during today’s pregame coverage of NBA on NBC.
“The late game offense becomes so so predictable,” Anthony began. “The shot creation, that burden on Jalen Brunson, is too heavy on his shoulders from a night-to-night basis. The margins are very thin.
“Because without easy offense, the Knicks missed shots that they turn into run-offs the other way.”
Carmelo Anthony says the Knicks struggle in late game situations because they rely too much on Jalen Brunson after loss to Pistons
“Its too dependent on Brunson… When you just focus on Jalen Brunson and there is no movement and stagnation and you’re getting punked” pic.twitter.com/82UMKuo8wF
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) January 7, 2026
It is a flaw that the Knicks will need to address. Brunson played too much hero ball for New York last year, including some clutch playoff performances that carried them to the Conference Finals. The team is surrounded by talent in Josh Hart, KAT, OG Anunoby, and Mikal Bridges. But it is clear that when New York needs a big play, they turn to Brunson, and opponents are starting to figure that out.
“When you just focus on Jalen Brunson, and there is no movement, there’s no offense, there’s stagnation, and you getting punked? You are getting punked. The Knicks will take this game and build off of this. I don’t think this is a time to panic,” Anthony added.
“They have to get themselves together. The last five games they haven’t been showing up,” added Melo.
Again, the Knicks are far from hitting the panic button. No team can be perfect throughout the grueling 82-game grind. If anything, this should open coach Mike Brown’s eyes to what they need to focus on before the second half of the season. If the Knicks hope to go further than the ECF from a season ago, they will need to be laser-focused during key matchups, and no matchup looms larger right now than the Pistons.
Fortunately, the Knicks are facing a directionless Clippers team, so they should be able to get back on track. But there are no easy games in the NBA. This would be a perfect opportunity for them to shake things up a bit. If they lose five straight to the 13–22 Clippers, panic will certainly start to set in for the City That Never Sleeps.
