Currently, the New York Knicks are 12-10, hanging onto the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference; however, despite their solid start, team President Phil Jackson remains a huge distraction for this Knick team. He has made some questionable remarks regarding LeBron James and most recently about Carmelo Anthony. Phil Jackson’s comments on Carmelo Anthony especially are highly hypocritical on his part.
Phil Jackson made some remarks on Carmelo Anthony’s style of play.
Phil Jackson says Carmelo "has a little bit of a tendency to hold it for three, four, five seconds, and then everybody comes to a stop."…
— Frank Isola (@TheFrankIsola) December 7, 2016
Using Common Sense
Is it true that Anthony holds onto the ball a little too much? Yes, but is he really the only player in the NBA who does that? Look around the league. What great player, or what great scorer never ever holds onto the ball for an extensive period of time? It’s not a thing, nobody does that. For Jackson to say something as absurd as this is completely hypocritical based on his history with star players.
Anthony Is Being Unfairly Accused
Phil Jackson is the most successful coach in NBA history, and his resume proves it; however, when you have hall of fame talents and players such as Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Scottie Pippen, and Shaquille O’Neal, your success can be overlooked. That’s not what comes in to question though, because no matter how great a coach you are, you still need great talent. The issue with Jackson’s comments is that Jordan and Bryant, both who were coached by Jackson, are two of the greatest scorers and players in NBA history; however, both were considered players who needed the ball in their hands in order to be productive.
While Carmelo Anthony is a pure scorer, and a player who needs the ball in his hands to produce at a high level, Jackson’s previous go-to guys played the same way, if not more selfish. Michael Jordan, the greatest player in NBA history, while not exactly the world’s biggest ball hog, was still a player who went isolation quite often to get his points. Isn’t that exactly what Anthony does? Isn’t that exactly what Kobe Bryant did?
Bryant, like Jordan, is one of the greatest players in NBA history because of his isolation play. He is even considered by some as one of the biggest ball hogs the NBA has ever seen, but he is still one of the greatest players to ever walk on the court, regardless. The fact that Phil Jackson would dare accuse Anthony of holding onto the basketball too long, and being a ball hog, is a highly hypocritical statemen when you consider that Jordan and Bryant held the ball for an extensive amount of time as well. Also, what kind of player does Phil Jackson think he was?
Phil Jackson Was Never Carmelo Anthony
While he did win a couple championships with the Knicks in his playing days, Jackson was a reserve, and nothing more. Did he have some upside? Yes, but he was never a star player, or even a second tier player. With that in consideration, what makes him think that he can criticize a player like Anthony? Anthony is a perennial NBA All-Star and one of the greatest scorers in NBA history. What was Phil Jackson? A good role player. Does that make him qualified to criticize a player of his own who is miles better than Jackson ever was? Also, if Jackson has this negative opinion on Anthony as a player, why did he even resign him two years ago?
Why Did Jackson Even Re-sign Anthony?
Two years ago, Jackson and the Knicks gave Anthony a five year max deal to remain in Gotham City. He led Knick fans and even the Knicks organization to believe that Anthony was a player worth building around, but his image of Anthony as a player appears clouded, and that’s all his fault. Since Jackson views Anthony as this ball hogging team chemistry killing monster, why did he resign him? It’s not like Anthony changed his game when Phil Jackson arrived. Jackson knew when he took the job that Anthony was a ball dominant player, so it comes off as if he’s been oblivious to his ways over the course of his career, but more specifically his Knick tenure.
Phil Jackson’s comments on Carmelo Anthony are mind boggling. He publicly criticized him for doing something that every scorer, and every great player does – hold onto the basketball for some time. Considering his championship runs with some of the greatest players the NBA has ever seen, and the style in which they play, Phil Jackson’s comments on Carmelo Anthony are completely hypocritical.
Main Photo
Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks, during the New York Knicks vs Milwaukee Bucks, NBA Basketball game at Madison Square Garden, New York. USA. 15th March 2014. Photo Tim Clayton (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
