Carmelo Anthony felt something in the air, in the atmosphere around the Knicks last year. And it wasn’t right.
This season with Phil Jackson overseeing and Derek Fisher coaching? Anthony senses something else, something good. It’s as different as being a lottery team and being a contender. Where once negativity thrived, a positive current now surges.
“I knew it was different the first day we stepped into training camp,” said Anthony after the 2-1 Knicks prepared in Tarrytown for Tuesday’s Garden game against the Wizards. “Just the culture and the atmosphere that’s here. The mind-sets of people. Not just the players but the coaches and the staff. How positive everybody was.
“There’s no bad energy flowing through our team, the organization right now. That’s always a big key when you have that kind of atmosphere around.”
Anthony was given the chance to throw past teammates and coaches under the bus and declined. He insisted he spoke about the group when asked specifically if he was referring to Tyson Chandler, one player who openly criticized coach Mike Woodson’s defensive schemes. Chandler was traded with Raymond Felton to Dallas, marking the biggest move in the Knicks’ roster upheaval.
“I’m not talking about no players, I’m just talking about as a whole. As a organization, as a whole, the energy was just different last year from Day 1,” Anthony said. “It [didn’t] have [anything] to do with the players. When we walked in here from Day 1 from training camp Media Day, the energy was just different.”
Ditto, the results. The Knicks went from a 54-victory, second-round playoff team in 2013 to less-than-lovable 37-45 losers last season.
“I thought we would build on that. You come off a somewhat successful season, making it to the second round you would think that you would build on that,” Anthony said.
General manager Glen Grunwald was whacked shortly before training camp. Injuries hit. The Knicks spiraled downward. The team picture was a chalk outline. But Anthony stressed it wasn’t just the losing that made life miserable last season.
“It’s deeper than that. I won’t go into details. It’s deeper than us going out and losing basketball games,” Anthony said. “For whatever reason, it happened. We looked at that. The organization looked at that. And they made some great changes.”
Jackson was named team president and he hired Fisher. The roster was remade.
“We’re seeing what we thought we’d see from the standpoint of building a team and the habits and the culture that must exist in order to be successful,” Fisher said. “And they’re starting to live some of the things we’ve been talking about.”
Now everyone says they sensed the difference from the very first day.
“Absolutely. It truly does feel great. Reminds me of my first year I was here, just the excitement around the team and it feels great. Feels good to have that feeling once again,” Amar’e Stoudemire said.
Still, Anthony refused to hint at what specifically made last season’s Knickville as happy a place as Dante’s seventh circle of hell.
“Just overall, not pointing anything out, but just overall from Day 1 last year the energy was just not right. And this year you could just feel the total difference stepping into this gym, talking to guys, talking to the staff, talking to the players, everybody has a newfound energy so it’s just a lot different now,” Anthony said.
Some things — like Anthony’s importance to the Knicks and his role — have not changed. In their wins, a shocker at Cleveland over LeBron James and friends, and Sunday against Charlotte’s defense, Anthony was huge, especially late.
“I don’t think that’s going to ever change. Coming down the stretch I have to make plays for me and everybody on the team,”
Anthony said. “What is changing … is just being patient the first couple quarters, figuring out the game, seeing how the defense is defending me, defending us. What’s working and what’s not working and just keeping that in the bank for the end of the game.”