Carmelo Anthony: Knicks Can Still Make Playoff Push
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Heading into the All-Star break, the Knicks appeared to be in a free fall.
New York had lost 10 of their previous 11 games, which contributed to coach Derek Fisher being shown the door.
Despite the fact that they are 23-32, are five games behind Chicago for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East and didn't make a single trade before Thursday's deadline, the Knicks are not giving up their playoff aspirations, Carmelo Anthony said Friday.
"We've got to tighten this thing up and make a push," the star forward told reporters.
The Knicks have just 27 games left to play in the regular season.
"At this point we have to believe in what we have right now," Anthony said. "We didn't make any moves. For whatever reasons, we didn't make any moves. We got to believe in this group. I got to believe in this group even more now."
Of course, Anthony is the biggest key to the Knicks' success moving forward. He has missed seven games with an ailing knee. New York is 0-7 without him.
Interim head coach Kurt Rambis said Friday he anticipates Anthony will play "in every single ballgame."
Rambis added that Anthony has "evolved this year in terms of his team play. He's just got to continue to push himself."
Anthony is averaging 21.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per game this season.
The Knicks return to action Friday night at the Nets.
