New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony knows he's unlikely to win a scoring title again with the team running the triangle offense, and he's OK with that. First-year coach Derek Fisher, meanwhile, continues to experiment with frontcourt lineups as Andrea Bargnani remains sidelined with a hamstring injury. If Fisher's frontcourt can be effective without the 7-footer, the Knicks could become more persistent with their efforts to find a trade partner for him.
Anthony has been saying all the right things. While the triangle offense will decrease his number of shots per game, he sounds happy to give more touches to his teammates and seems to relish the idea of not carrying the offense by himself. With the ball will constantly be moving in the new offense, Anthony acknowledged he probably wouldn't be in the running for another scoring title.
"I don't think I'll be the scoring champ," he said Saturday after practice, via ESPN. "Especially with this system, the way we're playing - the way that it's going to be well-balanced, the style of play we're going to have, I don't think I'll have to lead the league in scoring this year. ... I think shots will be fewer. I think it will be more effective shots. So if that means taking fewer shots, then that's what's going to happen."
Fisher, meanwhile, continues to tinker with possible lineups with Bargnani still not practicing.
"He hasn't been able to practice the last few days so it wouldn't be smart to jeopardize him by putting him into game action (Monday)," Fisher said Sunday, via the New York Daily News. "We've mixed the groups up a lot and we have some different guys in the frontcourt at times, different guys in the backcourt, so we'll kind of reassess who has been effective this week and try to put a good lineup together."
One of New York's question marks is in the frontcourt. If Fisher were able to find an efficient lineup without Bargnani playing, it could spark - or renew - the Knicks' interest in trading him. Bargnani was reportedly shopped around at times last season, and Knicks president Phil Jackson could again try to pawn off the injury-prone Italian's expiring contract.
