Retired NBA all star and current TNT NBA analyst Charles Barkley has recently been quoted blasting the New York Knicks defense and putting blame on head coach Mike D'Antoni:
"Let's just cut the B.S. I like Coach D'Antoni; he's a terrific coach. But he's just not stressing defense. He's just being too damn stubborn, like he's trying to win his way. Just look at his teams in Phoenix. They were good enough offensively to win, but they never got better defensively. They just never got better. I think about that because, looking at these Knicks, it's like he is trying to prove a point that he can win with his system. And dammit, it ain't working. And it ain't gonna work."
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| Mike D'Antoni |
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| Charles Barkley |
Barkley later went on and stated that the Knicks, since the blockbuster trade for Carmelo Anthony, have the worst defense in the history of the NBA. Since the trade that brought Carmelo to the Knicks and traded away almost all of their bench players, the Knicks have only gone 6-5. Barkley may have went too far by saying that the Knicks defense is the worst in history but he does bring up a great point about coach D'Antoni. Knicks president Donnie Walsh has done his part by creating a lineup that consists of two super stars and a point guard with championship experience. With the offensive fire power that the Knicks have, there should be no reason for them to be losing.
Chuck is always ranting about something, but this time I think has validity behind his comments. I don't know about "worst defense in NBA history", but the Knicks were better defensively before the melo trade.
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