Who two No. 1 players in Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire, D’Antoni has played match maker all season instead of running this basketball team. That’s why they sit at 8-15 right now.

Many people are claiming that the lack of team success is the fault of the coach, but unless he can get on the court himself to spread the ball around or come off the bench to support their lack of depth, he is doing the best he can.

Marc Berman from The New York Post is reporting on the Knicks' plans for their head coach:

According to NBA sources, D’Antoni will not be fired today despite back-to-back, last-second losses to Chicago and Boston, disputing a report earlier this week. But with the club at 8-15, his job security is in heavy question, and D’Antoni may not be able to afford losing to the Nets tonight in the last game of their back-to-back-to-back set.

Instead of punishing the head coach for not being able to corral both of the egos on his team, New York should be looking to add another piece to make the combination work. They need a facilitator.

Maybe Steve Nash?

There are always talks that the Phoenix Suns may be considering a trade for Nash, but I understand the Knicks have little to nothing to give. If they could pull this move off somehow, though, problem solved.

With D’Antoni, Stoudemire and Nash all working together before, the offense would run without a glitch while fitting in Carmelo Anthony wherever he wants to be. With a passer like Nash, ‘Melo and Amar'e would be able to have 25 points each game.

The bottom line is that without more pieces, it doesn’t matter who is coaching the Kicks because they will lose. It’s rather simple.

Check back for more on the National Basketball Association as it comes, and check out Bleacher Report’s NBA Page to get your fill of all things basketball.

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Not to play the “I told you so” card, but I saw this coming. Who remembers the beginning of the 2010-2011 season? I do. Ray Felton, Amar’e, Landry Fields, Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler were lighting it up. The Knicks were back, and in a way that they hadn’t been back in a decade at least. Amar’e was the star of New York City, and his supporting cast did just that: support.

With Felton running the point, Amar’e was in his glory, getting touches and great looks like there was no tomorrow. The rookie Landry Fields had breakout games and gained recognition and popularity as a starter for one of the biggest market teams in the world. Wilson Chandler obliterated the boards as one of the most aggressive big men in the league. Gallinari gained the respect of a nation over the course of his 2.5 year stint with the Knicks.

And then: Melo. 

Melo to the Knicks was going to happen. It was the most talked about trade of early 2011, and no one doubted that Melo would be wearing the Knicks’ orange and blue by the 2011-2012 season. Here came the problem: the Nuggets didn’t want a LeBron-leaves-Cleveland-with-the-worst-team-in-the-NBA-and-little-else situation on their hands. The Knicks could have waited to sign Melo. Fuck it, they SHOULD have waited for his free agency to start over the summer. But the instant gratification mindset of…wait, EVERYBODY in New York City led to the premature signing of Carmelo Anthony (and precious one other piece) for a solid percentage of the Knicks’ bench, and the majority of their starting lineup 

Denver got the better end of that trade. 

Friends of mine, die-hard Knicks fans, refused to believe that. They railed on me via Twitter for being unsupportive of the trade for Melo. Don’t get me wrong, Melo is one of the best shooters and scorers there is. He’s proved that for years. But when you’re gaining an offensive power, adding him to a different kind of offensive power, and sacrificing most of your starting lineup (as well as the majority of your defense), you don’t get a powerhouse team; you get a clash of the titans. And not the good Miami Heat vs. L.A. Lakers kind.

Answer this for me: who was running the point when Ray Felton was unceremoniously shipped off to the Mile High city? (Can you tell I’m still bitter about this? I think Felton did more for Amar’e’s stardom in New York City than Amar’e did.) The answer is, the only other piece that was of any value to the Knicks from the Nuggets: Chauncey Billups. And where is Mr. Big Shot now? In L.A., where the big shots go. But that's another story.

And now who’s running the point for the Knicks? A quietly out of place and inconsistent Toney Douglas? A hot shot rookie who takes more shots than he earns in Iman Shumpert? A recent D-League call-up in JEREMY LIN? For God’s sake. It is impossible to construct a decent offense when no one is in charge. Not only that, but Amar’e and Carmelo are both ball stoppers. They make buckets. They’re not role players; they’re superstars.

I'm going to come right out and say it. The Knicks have bad chemistry. Do you know why LeBron, D-Wade, and Bosh are winning games? It's because they have chemistry. Good chemistry. If the Heat’s "Big Three" are the paper-mâché volcano of the NBA "Big Three" model, with lava smoothly oozing down the sides in perfect distribution, the Knicks are like an accident-prone bottle rocket project—taking off with admirable force, but inevitably shooting off into the unsuspecting owner’s crotch. An F+, if you will, in the world of acquiring NBA talent (what that means is that they tried really hard, it just blew up in their faces). 

What Knicks management has failed to realize is that acquiring a "Big Three" means nothing if the teamwork isn’t there. Getting into salary cap trouble, gutting the roster, and signing the big name instead of the key player, all for the sake of claiming a "Big Three" isn’t worth the breath you used to say it. Not yet anyway.

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The Knicks vs. Celtics games are always a thriller to watch, however, if the Knicks actually lose to the Celtics, Mike D'Antoni's job could be gone, and Amar'e Stoudemire could be traded.

Winners of just two of the last 12 games, the Knicks have struggled horrendously throughout 2012.

On Christmas Day, the Knicks snagged their first win of the season against the Celtics at home. After that, everyone thought the Knicks would be on top in the east.

Now we've found out the Knicks can't win games without a point guard and Baron Davis is having setbacks—which was the last thing the Knicks needed.

Derrick Rose showed the Knicks why they need a point guard, and tonight it's Rondo's turn, as he poured 31 points and 13 assists in their Christmas Day outing.

The Knicks continue to say they are with Mike D'Antoni, but they haven't been. The Knicks have played careless basketball that has ultimately ran them away in every contest.

If Mike D'Antoni goes tonight—if the Knicks lose—that means the Knicks will be looking to shop Amar'e Stoudemire to gain a better bench than what they have now.

This game means so much that the Knicks would probably start rebuilding their franchise around their two studs, Tyson Chandler and Carmelo Anthony (Stoudemire would be traded). And that is not the reason those two players actually came to New York.

They want to win now, and they want to win championships.

Last night, the Knicks played very well, but couldn't stop last year's Most Valuable Player, Derrick Rose, who had an unbelievable performance.

The Knicks were down by just three, and D'Antoni called a play to go to Stoudemire for a three. He missed the wide open shot, but D'Antoni called the perfect call in that situation. Joakim Noah was not expecting that at all and was caught off guard.

Owner James Dolan doesn't give you more then three strikes, and D'Antoni is on his second, inches away from his third.

Funny though, James Dolan wanted to make the trade for Anthony, not D'Antoni. D'Antoni wanted to keep his team, but Dolan overruled.

Anyway, the mindset for the Knicks must be "win to stay in" the race. Because "if they lose, they'll most definitely hear boos" for the rest of the season.

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Not only are they playing terrible basketball, but they're in a nearly uncorrectable situation with nobody to blame but themselves.

The Knicks have few tradable pieces, no guard play and a sitting duck coach in over his head.

Mike D'Antoni has himself a team with injury issues and two superstar scorers who cannot seem to work together for the life of them.

The Knicks gambled on Baron Davis being healthy sooner rather than later and believed him to be the veteran point guard presence they desperately need.

Now, 21 games into the season, the Knicks haven't been able to get Davis on the court and they've won only eight games all season.

According to a Knicks blog post from ESPN New York, there is even a report that D'Antoni could be fired if the Knicks lose their next two games:

One report in "The Daily" stated that D'Antoni would be fired by owner James Dolan on Sunday if the Knicks lost to Chicago and Boston so the Knicks could avoid a media firestorm with the Giants in the Super Bowl. 

However, ESPN New York adds, "But the popular belief is that D'Antoni will get a chance to coach a healthy Baron Davis."

If and when Davis will be healthy is one of the mysteries surrounding this team, but that isn't even the concern they should have. They're not sure how Davis will fit in with this basketball team, if he's capable of staying healthy, if he can even still play the game at an elite level.

The Knicks don't need any more mediocre-to-poor guard play on their team.

But the one thing they cannot afford to do is blow it all up by bringing in a new coach. For starters, there isn't anybody that is going to be willing to take on this mess of a team as they are right now.

D'Antoni isn't the problem to start with. Although he doesn't preach defense, there isn't anything a new coach can do if the players don't want to respond or execute.

There is no quick fix for this team; they've invested too much into the roster they've put together.

Until the Knicks have the correct coach for this team or the team they put together in the future, they need to keep D'Antoni on the bench.

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As we enter February, it's not going to get any easier.

Games against the Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks, among others, are awaiting New York. The Knicks' performance during this stretch, which kicks off with a back-to-back-to-back, will speak volumes about which direction the team is headed.

Will Mike D'Antoni's seat cool off? Can the Knicks get their heads above .500? What kind of impact with Baron Davis' return have on the team?

The outcomes of this month's games will say it all.

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Head coach Mike D'Antoni has been on the hot seat since Phil Jackson retired, but the Knicks' current inability to put together a winning streak has rendered it scalding. It's unlikely that any decision is made on the head coach's future before Baron Davis returns, but when dealing with Knicks owner James Dolan, anything is possible.

So, how can New York turn its season around? Or better yet, how can it salvage D'Antoni's job, Amar'e Stoudemire's image and Tyson Chandler's sanity?

Through Carmelo Anthony.

Like it or not, the Knicks live and die with Anthony. Their offense is run through him and he will be given the green light a majority of the time. Stoudemire helped revive this franchise, but it's Anthony's offense now.

And no one should have an issue with it.

Yes, Stoudemire needs his touches, and finding Chandler off the pick-and-roll is imperative, but for the Knicks to succeed, Anthony needs to be taking shots and hitting them.

Don't fool yourself into believing Anthony can be a bona fide facilitator as opposed to an inherent scorer. His skill set is clear, and while he is an adept passer, he's no point guard.

Does that mean he cannot do both? Absolutely not, it just means the Knicks can rarely afford a night where he totals one point.

What Anthony has struggled to do his whole career is find the balance between scoring and facilitating. When he first arrived in New York, D'Antoni forced him to devote himself to the seven-seconds-or-less system. The result? Visible struggles and a staggering end to a brief playoff appearance. 

That was to be expected, though. A new state of mind cannot be achieved overnight, and somewhere along the lines both Anthony and D'Antoni forgot that.

For whatever reason, D'Antoni has attempted to appease Anthony by allowing him to isolate his opponents. The coach stepped outside of his comfort zone to allow Anthony to enter his—a noble, yet gullible decision.

Anthony's tactics have proven less than effective, as double-teams flocked his way, leaving the small forward to force the action while Stoudemire and company stood idly by. The fact that Anthony has rarely wavered in his detrimental-to-ball-movement ways is disturbing, and the question as to why must be posed. 

D'Antoni doesn't appear to have the tight-knit relationship with Anthony that he does with Stoudemire, Chandler and the rest of the team. They are rarely seen speaking on the sidelines and, up until recently, Anthony hasn't showed any public support for his coach.

There's the problem.

Assuming Anthony has always been on board with D'Antoni's basketball philosophy is naive. This system forced the All-Star forward to change everything he stood for, and that doesn't come without resentment.

But the time for Anthony to defy D'Antoni's game plan is over. The coach allowed his star to play a personalized style of basketball thus far, and it clearly hasn't worked. Anthony's love for isolation has not only isolated his defender, but his teammates as well.

For the Knicks to succeed, they need to play team basketball; they need to embrace D'Antoni's offensive concepts, Anthony needs to embrace them.

Forget about whether or not D'Antoni is the right coach to lead New York to a title. He is here now, as is Anthony, and it is their job to make it work.

On that front, D'Antoni has been as flexible as possible. He has compromised his offensive schemes and beliefs to appease who was supposed to be the team's second savior. And now it's Anthony's turn to concede.

The forward's backing of D'Antoni is a good start, but is just that, a start. Anthony has finally uttered the right words, but he must now take action. For the Knicks to keep their sinking ship afloat, he must emerge as a true leader.

And Anthony can only lead on the court if he becomes a follower off it.

Follow @danfavale

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Head coach Mike D'Antoni has been on the hot seat since Phil Jackson retired, but the Knicks' current inability to put together a winning streak has rendered it scalding. It's unlikely that any decision is made on the head coach's future before Baron Davis returns, but when dealing with Knicks owner James Dolan, anything is possible.

So, how can New York turn its season around? Or better yet, how can it salvage D'Antoni's job, Amar'e Stoudemire's image and Tyson Chandler's sanity?

Through Carmelo Anthony.

Like it or not, the Knicks live and die with Anthony. Their offense is run through him and he will be given the green light a majority of the time. Stoudemire helped revive this franchise, but it's Anthony's offense now.

And no one should have an issue with it.

Yes, Stoudemire needs his touches, and finding Chandler off the pick-and-roll is imperative, but for the Knicks to succeed, Anthony needs to be taking shots and hitting them.

Don't fool yourself into believing Anthony can be a bona fide facilitator as opposed to an inherent scorer. His skill set is clear, and while he is an adept passer, he's no point guard.

Does that mean he cannot do both? Absolutely not, it just means the Knicks can rarely afford a night where he totals one point.

What Anthony has struggled to do his whole career is find the balance between scoring and facilitating. When he first arrived in New York, D'Antoni forced him to devote himself to the seven-seconds-or-less system. The result? Visible struggles and a staggering end to a brief playoff appearance. 

That was to be expected, though. A new state of mind cannot be achieved overnight, and somewhere along the lines both Anthony and D'Antoni forgot that.

For whatever reason, D'Antoni has attempted to appease Anthony by allowing him to isolate his opponents. The coach stepped outside of his comfort zone to allow Anthony to enter his—a noble, yet gullible decision.

Anthony's tactics have proven less than effective, as double-teams flocked his way, leaving the small forward to force the action while Stoudemire and company stood idly by. The fact that Anthony has rarely wavered in his detrimental-to-ball-movement ways is disturbing, and the question as to why must be posed. 

D'Antoni doesn't appear to have the tight-knit relationship with Anthony that he does with Stoudemire, Chandler and the rest of the team. They are rarely seen speaking on the sidelines and, up until recently, Anthony hasn't showed any public support for his coach.

There's the problem.

Assuming Anthony has always been on board with D'Antoni's basketball philosophy is naive. This system forced the All-Star forward to change everything he stood for, and that doesn't come without resentment.

But the time for Anthony to defy D'Antoni's game plan is over. The coach allowed his star to play a personalized style of basketball thus far, and it clearly hasn't worked. Anthony's love for isolation has not only isolated his defender, but his teammates as well.

For the Knicks to succeed, they need to play team basketball; they need to embrace D'Antoni's offensive concepts, Anthony needs to embrace them.

Forget about whether or not D'Antoni is the right coach to lead New York to a title. He is here now, as is Anthony, and it is their job to make it work.

On that front, D'Antoni has been as flexible as possible. He has compromised his offensive schemes and beliefs to appease who was supposed to be the team's second savior. And now it's Anthony's turn to concede.

The forward's backing of D'Antoni is a good start, but is just that, a start. Anthony has finally uttered the right words, but he must now take action. For the Knicks to keep their sinking ship afloat, he must emerge as a true leader.

And Anthony can only lead on the court if he becomes a follower off it.

Follow @danfavale

Read more New York Knicks news on BleacherReport.com

Twenty-seven. The amount of games the New York Knicks have lost since acquiring the highly sought star small forward from the Denver Nuggets.

Since the fiasco that was the Anthony trade, the Knicks have lost 56 percent of their games. That's right folks, your New York Knicks, the second most valuable franchise in the NBA, valued at $780 million by Forbes, have a losing record since they made the trade to acquire the savior of the franchise.

Melo was seen as the second savior of Knicks basketball behind Amar'e Stoudemire. The beloved power forward-center hybrid, super-freak of nature, who above all other teams clamoring for his services chose to come to play in the Mecca of basketball that is Madison Square Garden.

The swap that essentially turned the Nuggets into Knicks-West or Knicks 2.0 or whatever you want to call it, may have been the downfall of the Knickerbockers' return to basketball glory. If you win in this city people will adore you. You'll become a legend in the eyes of all New Yorkers (see Walt “Clyde” Frazier or Willis Reed).

But when you lose, public approval, along with forgiveness, does not come easy. No matter who you are.

The Knicks traded away a trio of young promising players who were exceeding expectations in the first half of last season.

Raymond Felton. Danilo Gallinari. Wilson Chandler. All gone. The players that the New York faithful had come to love were sent to Denver basically for the services of one man. Truthfully, the Knicks did get decent production out of Chauncey Billups and adequate bench play from Anthony Carter, but that was just a bonus.

The Knicks signed Felton to a two-year $15.8 million deal before the 2010-2011 campaign. He had some trouble getting his pick-and-roll down with Stoudemire, but once that was polished and nearly perfected, the Knicks were a force to be reckoned with. Stoudemire rattled off 30-10 games night in and night out, dominating the competition while helping the Knicks win 13 of 14 from November 17 to December 12.

Stoudemire was showered by choruses of “MVP” chants during his streak of exceptional play, but those chants are now long lost in the catacombs of newly renovated Madison Square Garden.

Gallinari was the sixth pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, based on heavy lobbying from Mike D’Antoni, and averaged 16 points per contest last season before he was sent away. The Nuggets just signed "Gallo" to a four-year, $42 million deal. All that you talent and promise gone for the great Carmelo.

And now we have poor Wilson Chandler. He was averaging over 16 points per game playing on Broadway, and now this poor man has been relegated to obscurity due to the NBA lockout, playing for Zhejiang Guangsha of the Chinese Basketball Association. 

Countless New Yorkers are clamoring for Mike D'Antoni's head game in and game out, but the blame cannot be entirely put on him.

As currently constituted, the New York Knicks are far from a team. They don't play team basketball. You seldom see the spectacular ball movement and backdoor cuts that turn a mediocre team into a good one and a good one into a great one. Their game play consists of catching and shooting, better known as the Melo show. Unfortunately this season’s Melo show features a sub-40 percent shooting display from the field.

D'Antoni has feebly attempted to change his mantra into defense first. Funny joke, right? A D'Antoni-coached team would rely on defense to win games? No chance. Not even the arrival of Tyson Chandler, completing one of the best front-courts in the league (on paper at least), could save the Knicks.

Catch and shoot. That's the Melo show. Toney Douglas dribbles the ball up court and either passes it to Melo or finds a way to take a contested running jumper. Well, it used to be Toney Douglas until his productivity plummeted into oblivion while rookie Iman Shumpert’s stock soared through the roof.

Melo then proceeds to do his usual shake and bake followed by a turnaround, fade away jump shot or a lame attempt to drive the lane. That's not basketball. Where is the offense that was once powered by Stoudemire’s stellar interior play?

Yes, Tyson Chandler is now down low, creating a bit more traffic than “STAT” is used to, but if an injury-plagued Chandler helped the Bobcats make the playoffs in the 2009-2010 alongside Gerald Wallace, he can surely make this work with Stoudemire. Offense needs to be a team effort and not a constant (and easily stopped) game of one-on-one.

The problem isn't just on the court as it seems STAT and Melo aren’t on the best terms off the court either. Stoudemire recently ripped some players for not studying the game plan before the games and who exactly do you think he was calling out? My guess is that he's pretty unhappy with Melo.

Stoudemire isn't the only one frustrated with the course of this season. Chandler told reporters this after a January 28 loss to the Houston Rockets: "I refuse. I refuse. I refuse to have a losing season like that. We have to do what it takes, I don’t care what is, I really don’t. Like I said, we have to man-up."

Not only does Chandler refuse to accept the present state of the New York Knicks, he refuses three times over.

Just a little tidbit of information for you here: The Knicks beat the Charlotte Bobcats by 33 on January 24. Melo registered only one point in 30 minutes of game time. However, the more impressive statistic is that he took a measly seven shots from the field. Meanwhile, Stoudemire and Chandler shot a combined 72 percent from the field and Landry Fields even threw in 18 points, his second highest output of the season.

Fields averaged double-digit points per game before the Anthony trade but his point production, along with rebounding numbers, tailed off notably after his arrival. Of course you expect the scoring of your players to go down when a new star comes around, but a player who is seen as a superstar should make everyone around him play better overall.

As the saying goes, statistics are everything. If you go by statistics in this instance, the Nuggets got the better of the deal. They are 14-6 this season and trail only the Oklahoma City Thunder for first place in the Western Conference while the Knicks are trying to stay relevant early on, compiling a dreadful 7-13 record, struggling to keep their heads above water. 

Could it be that the Knicks are better off without Carmelo Anthony? Perhaps management could work a possible Melo for Deron Williams deal. Trying to win the NBA championship without a point guard is the same as trying to win the Super Bowl with no quarterback. Teams without a field general simply cannot compete with superior guard play. 

I do believe the Knicks will find a way to turn things around and avoid an unprecedented letdown of their fan base. However, a few locker room and on-court issues need to be worked out before the front office, players and fans are comfortable with the state of the Knicks franchise.

And it all starts with No. 7.

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Twenty-seven. The amount of games the New York Knicks have lost since acquiring the highly sought star small forward from the Denver Nuggets.

Since the fiasco that was the Anthony trade, the Knicks have lost 56 percent of their games. That's right folks, your New York Knicks, the second most valuable franchise in the NBA, valued at $780 million by Forbes, have a losing record since they made the trade to acquire the savior of the franchise.

Melo was seen as the second savior of Knicks basketball behind Amar'e Stoudemire. The beloved power forward-center hybrid, super-freak of nature, who above all other teams clamoring for his services chose to come to play in the Mecca of basketball that is Madison Square Garden.

The swap that essentially turned the Nuggets into Knicks-West or Knicks 2.0 or whatever you want to call it, may have been the downfall of the Knickerbockers' return to basketball glory. If you win in this city people will adore you. You'll become a legend in the eyes of all New Yorkers (see Walt “Clyde” Frazier or Willis Reed).

But when you lose, public approval, along with forgiveness, does not come easy. No matter who you are.

The Knicks traded away a trio of young promising players who were exceeding expectations in the first half of last season.

Raymond Felton. Danilo Gallinari. Wilson Chandler. All gone. The players that the New York faithful had come to love were sent to Denver basically for the services of one man. Truthfully, the Knicks did get decent production out of Chauncey Billups and adequate bench play from Anthony Carter, but that was just a bonus.

The Knicks signed Felton to a two-year $15.8 million deal before the 2010-2011 campaign. He had some trouble getting his pick-and-roll down with Stoudemire, but once that was polished and nearly perfected, the Knicks were a force to be reckoned with. Stoudemire rattled off 30-10 games night in and night out, dominating the competition while helping the Knicks win 13 of 14 from November 17 to December 12.

Stoudemire was showered by choruses of “MVP” chants during his streak of exceptional play, but those chants are now long lost in the catacombs of newly renovated Madison Square Garden.

Gallinari was the sixth pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, based on heavy lobbying from Mike D’Antoni, and averaged 16 points per contest last season before he was sent away. The Nuggets just signed "Gallo" to a four-year, $42 million deal. All that you talent and promise gone for the great Carmelo.

And now we have poor Wilson Chandler. He was averaging over 16 points per game playing on Broadway, and now this poor man has been relegated to obscurity due to the NBA lockout, playing for Zhejiang Guangsha of the Chinese Basketball Association. 

Countless New Yorkers are clamoring for Mike D'Antoni's head game in and game out, but the blame cannot be entirely put on him.

As currently constituted, the New York Knicks are far from a team. They don't play team basketball. You seldom see the spectacular ball movement and backdoor cuts that turn a mediocre team into a good one and a good one into a great one. Their game play consists of catching and shooting, better known as the Melo show. Unfortunately this season’s Melo show features a sub-40 percent shooting display from the field.

D'Antoni has feebly attempted to change his mantra into defense first. Funny joke, right? A D'Antoni-coached team would rely on defense to win games? No chance. Not even the arrival of Tyson Chandler, completing one of the best front-courts in the league (on paper at least), could save the Knicks.

Catch and shoot. That's the Melo show. Toney Douglas dribbles the ball up court and either passes it to Melo or finds a way to take a contested running jumper. Well, it used to be Toney Douglas until his productivity plummeted into oblivion while rookie Iman Shumpert’s stock soared through the roof.

Melo then proceeds to do his usual shake and bake followed by a turnaround, fade away jump shot or a lame attempt to drive the lane. That's not basketball. Where is the offense that was once powered by Stoudemire’s stellar interior play?

Yes, Tyson Chandler is now down low, creating a bit more traffic than “STAT” is used to, but if an injury-plagued Chandler helped the Bobcats make the playoffs in the 2009-2010 alongside Gerald Wallace, he can surely make this work with Stoudemire. Offense needs to be a team effort and not a constant (and easily stopped) game of one-on-one.

The problem isn't just on the court as it seems STAT and Melo aren’t on the best terms off the court either. Stoudemire recently ripped some players for not studying the game plan before the games and who exactly do you think he was calling out? My guess is that he's pretty unhappy with Melo.

Stoudemire isn't the only one frustrated with the course of this season. Chandler told reporters this after a January 28 loss to the Houston Rockets: "I refuse. I refuse. I refuse to have a losing season like that. We have to do what it takes, I don’t care what is, I really don’t. Like I said, we have to man-up."

Not only does Chandler refuse to accept the present state of the New York Knicks, he refuses three times over.

Just a little tidbit of information for you here: The Knicks beat the Charlotte Bobcats by 33 on January 24. Melo registered only one point in 30 minutes of game time. However, the more impressive statistic is that he took a measly seven shots from the field. Meanwhile, Stoudemire and Chandler shot a combined 72 percent from the field and Landry Fields even threw in 18 points, his second highest output of the season.

Fields averaged double-digit points per game before the Anthony trade but his point production, along with rebounding numbers, tailed off notably after his arrival. Of course you expect the scoring of your players to go down when a new star comes around, but a player who is seen as a superstar should make everyone around him play better overall.

As the saying goes, statistics are everything. If you go by statistics in this instance, the Nuggets got the better of the deal. They are 14-6 this season and trail only the Oklahoma City Thunder for first place in the Western Conference while the Knicks are trying to stay relevant early on, compiling a dreadful 7-13 record, struggling to keep their heads above water. 

Could it be that the Knicks are better off without Carmelo Anthony? Perhaps management could work a possible Melo for Deron Williams deal. Trying to win the NBA championship without a point guard is the same as trying to win the Super Bowl with no quarterback. Teams without a field general simply cannot compete with superior guard play. 

I do believe the Knicks will find a way to turn things around and avoid an unprecedented letdown of their fan base. However, a few locker room and on-court issues need to be worked out before the front office, players and fans are comfortable with the state of the Knicks franchise.

And it all starts with No. 7.

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