National Basketball Association

'Melo: Knicks might not improve soon

Published Mar. 21, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Knicks star Carmelo Anthony admitted for the first time that his blockbuster trade could worsen the sliding team's hopes of mounting a strong playoff challenge, the New York Post reported Monday.

A woeful 100-95 defeat at the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday night saw New York fall to 7-8 with Anthony in the side, with his fellow All-Star, Amar'e Stoudemire, making just 11 of 28 shots.

Coach Mike D'Antoni will hope for a swift improvement Monday night against the Boston Celtics but Anthony urged Knicks fans to not expect an instant solution to the team's stuttering plays.

"For everybody to get 100 percent on the same page it might take until next season," Anthony said after the Bucks blowout.

Anthony's defense on Carlos Delfino was exposed badly, never more so than in a shocking first quarter which ended 32-9 to the Bucks. But the 26-year-old insisted he will continue to do his best to adapt to his new surroundings.

"My thing is to go out here and do what I have to do within the system," he added. "I never want guys to feel I'm going out of the system. I just want to focus on getting the system down pat."

He continued, "This is the system we'll be running here on out. I want to become great at it. The system is the system. The offense is the offense. My thing is to pick my spots."