Carmelo Anthony is New York Knicks’ Most Disappointing Player

Amid their worst start as a franchise, the New York Knicks are 4-19 so far. New head coach Derek Fisher has yet to find a rotation that he likes while teaching his team the triangle offense, and seemingly every player has underwhelmed. Carmelo Anthony is the superstar on the team and often blame will be put on his shoulders. The fact of the matter is, however, Jose Calderon and Samuel Dalembert were brought in and haven’t really done much, Tim Hardaway Jr. hasn’t received enough playing time to make an impact and the streakiness of J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert has been a major issue. All of that leaves us trying to determine who, exactly, is the biggest disappointment in 2014.

To me, the fault still has to be Anthony’s.

Although his numbers this season aren’t too far off from his career averages, it’s more than just statistics that have led Melo to be the most disappointing player. In the past, he’s been criticized for taking too many shots, halting an offense by playing isolation and rarely passing the ball – all obviously related. This season, however, the Knicks were looking to turn a new leaf. They brought in the Zen Master, Phil Jackson, to lead the franchise, who then brought in his own disciple, Fisher, to coach the team. This was supposed to be the year that Melo became a real team player.

But that hasn’t happened yet.

Previously, Melo’s selfishness was often forgiven because he was among the league leaders in scoring, even winning the title in 2012-13 with 28.7 points per game. This year, he’s down to 22.9 PPG, his lowest in three years. His rebounds per game and assists per game are actually near his career averages. This simply boils down to his inability to lead by example – by passing, rebounding and playing defense. Among the abilities on that list, the last is his biggest flaw.

This week, in fact, the Knicks held a team meeting where they ripped – OK, maybe discussed – with Anthony, his tendencies to play lackadaisically on the defensive end. It should be the other way around. Superstars should be the one demanding their teammates to pick up the slack. But, in New York, it’s quite the opposite. Anthony, the $124-million man, needs to play hard on both ends.

Unfortunately, Melo is suffering from an ailing left knee, which makes his case slightly more dismissible. Everyone will recall Michael Jordan’s “flu game,” and everyone expects their stars to play through anything. But not everyone is Jordan. Actually, no one is Jordan. But Anthony could learn to pick his spots (like Jordan) – when to pass, play defense and lead by example, and when to take the game over and put the Knicks on top. Until he can do that, Anthony will remain the biggest disappointment of the 2014-15 season.

Matt Turner is a New York Mets writer for www.RantSports.com. “Like” him on Facebook, follow him on Twitter @MturnerNY, or add him to your network on LinkedIn or Google.