Carmelo Anthony is admitting he might not be the most clutch player in the league. The leader of the New York Knicks is concerned with his mindset in the fourth quarter when the game is close and is taking blame for the team's early struggles. After claiming to second-guess himself during the final stretch of the game, Anthony is vowing to stop being so passive.
"For myself, maybe I'm second-guessing myself as well," Anthony said, view the New York Post. "Maybe I'm a little bit passive out there, trying to do things that's out of the norm and trying to make people better at the wrong times. That's where I'm second-guessing myself. And I'm second-guessing my shot, and should I take this or should I pass this. I got to get out of that mentality quick."
So far this season, Anthony has scored just 15 points in the fourth quarter of the Knicks' first three games. the team is 1-2 and Anthony believes his lack of late-game scoring could be playing a large factor. The reigning scoring champion of the league is still attempting to adjust to new teammates and new lineups to start the year.
The forward may have a point. Against the Chicago Bulls, Anthony missed 5 of 7 shots in the fourth as the team lost 82-81. Against the Minnesota Timberwolves, he helped give up a 25-point lead, missing three shots and committing a turnover. Anthony is putting up just 15 points in the fourth quarters total, going 1-for-5 from beyond the arc.
Mike Woodson is chalking it up to inexperience with teammates. He is not letting Anthony take the blame for the late-game struggles, instead saying that the veteran is a large part of the team's plan and everything will start to work itself out. Anthony, on the other hand, is being a bit harder on himself.
"I think we're out there thinking too much, second-guessing ourselves out there," Anthony said. "When you do that, you're going to make mistakes, you're going to turn the basketball over. You see the difference when we're out there just playing basketball, and just having fun, going with our gut, going with our instinct -- it's night and day out there on the basketball court."
Anthony promises that he has full confidence in his shooting abilities, he just must get confident in his mental state and in his teammates. He knows that over time that Knicks will work everything out and be prepared to make a real run the rest of the year.
