Carmelo Anthony

New York Knicks: Carmelo Anthony Moving On From Drama

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 9:10 p.m. ET

Fansided, Maxwell Ogden/FanSided via Daily Knicks

Carmelo Anthony is moving on from the unnecessary drama and turning his focus to what matters most: helping the New York Knicks win games.

Playing for the New York Knicks guarantees an athlete two things: being held to a high standard and enduring unnecessary drama. Every false step will be a front page headline and every loss will be blown out of proportion.

In the case of Carmelo Anthony, the adversity he’s faced includes unnecessary drama with team president Phil Jackson.

Anthony and Jackson have traded barbs through the media for the better part of Jackson’s tenure as team president. That’s escalated in recent days, which ultimately led to a meeting between Anthony and Jackson to clear the air.

Following his meeting with Jackson, Anthony addressed the media and acknowledged that he’s turned his focus to what truly matters: basketball.

Anthony may or may not have gained clarity from his meeting with Jackson, but he appears to be in better spirits.

At this point in time, that’s the only thing that truly matters.

Whether or not Anthony and Jackson buried the hatchet, the Knicks need to turn this season around. New York has an intriguing level of talent and more than 40 years of NBA experience in its starting lineup, yet it’s 18-24 through 42 games.

Thus, while it may be fair to question why Jackson and Anthony are letting this become a story, it’s more important to focus on winning games.

New York will only find its way out of its current rut if Anthony is enabled to focus on leading the charge.

Anthony is currently averaging 22.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.0 steal, and 2.0 3-point field goals made per game. He’s doing so on a slash line of .430/.358/.843.

Fortunately for the Knicks, Anthony is up to 23.2 points and 4.0 assists on a slash line of .460/.426/.750 during the month of January.

Anthony is improving individually, but the question is: when will the team results reflect it?