Carmelo Anthony and Phil Jackson have gone back and forth at each other in the public eye. Jackson has a penchant for criticizing his players openly and getting excellent results, but that was as a coach, and not as a team president. Whether this works out like it did in the past remains to be seen, but Metta World Peace has advice for Anthony on how to deal with Jackson.
Metta was coached by Jackson for two years in Los Angeles and left New York just before Jackson arrived, so his words in the Daily News should be useful for Anthony.
“Phil’s going to push you. He is going to see where your mind’s at,” Peace said. “And Melo responded well. I’ve seen the comments. I like the fact that Melo didn’t back down. I like the fact that Melo had some competitive comments and he went back at Phil. So it reminded me of when Kobe went back at Phil.
“Melo said, ‘We’re going to stick here. And be with the team. You know. We’re not listening to anything on the outside.’ And that was great. That was great, man. And that’s what the Garden needs man. They need that controversy.”
“(Phil) don’t give a f–k. That’s what he wants. He wants that. Sometimes I’d come to practice and maybe I wasn’t feeling it. So would say something to get under my skin,” said Peace, a current bench player with the Lakers. “So it pushed my buttons and I had a great practice out of nowhere. So those type of moments I had with Phil I really appreciate. You appreciate it in the long run.”
Is it working? No, really, I’m asking. The Knicks are fourth in the East with a 14-10 record and Anthony is averaging 22.4 points per game, which is slightly better than what he did (21.6) last year. So if the Knicks are pointed toward their first playoff trip since 2013 and Anthony’s game isn’t suffering, doesn’t this mean Jackson should continue to take shots at Anthony in the media? Over anything?
“You see Melo’s Snapchat game? Weak. Can’t he ever add an emoji or some funny text to his pictures? And there’s one thing Melo on the court and Melo’s Snapchat videos have in common — poor focus. No more questions.”
