A month ago things were looking extremely grim for the New York Knicks. The team was in the middle of a 16-game losing streak while Carmelo Anthony was considering shutting it down for the season and Iman Shumpert and JR Smith were sent packing. However, now the team has some momentum swinging their direction with a win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, putting them at 5-5 in their last 10 games. The team is looking to continue improvement as they prepare to face the struggling Boston Celtics on Tuesday night.
The Knicks are benefitting from Anthony who is playing his basketball of the season following knee issues that kept on the bench for a stretch of games. While he admits to not being 100 percent health wise, he is staying focused on basketball and continuing to help the team. Along with Anthony, lesser known names like Langston Galloway, Lou Amundson and Lance Thomas are developing well to give the team a four-game home win streak after starting 3-17 in the Garden.
Anthony is surging right now while still dealing with knee soreness. Eventually the star will get surgery, but until then he has played in seven of the last eight games while coming off a game he had 31 points. It was his second 31-point game in three games. Over his past eight home games, Anthony is averaging 28.8 points which is good considering the Knicks still have plenty of players sitting out with issues. Amar'e Stoudemire continues to sit out while Andrea Bargnani is also struggling with health issues.
Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics are struggling. They are currently averaging 86.7 points during a three-game losing streak while they come off a 83-75 loss to the Miami Heat. Tyler Zeller and Avery Bradley got significant minutes in that game, scoring 17 points each. Boston has lost six of the last eight games to the Knicks including three straight. Anthony put up 22 points on the team in their last meeting.
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