Coach: Coaching the Grizzlies at the beginning, playing the bantam

On a day off, the Knicks lost to the Rockets 102-117 away from home.

安东尼22投8中，三分球5中1，罚球6中5，得到22分6篮板2助攻，命中率仅有36.3%。

The defense adopted by the Rockets this time was Ariza's one-on-one defense. Other players cut off Anthony's passing route on the weak side, which is to force him to play alone.

Faced with this situation, Lu Yong suggested more than once that Anthony play without the ball and leave the offense to Jokic to sort out.

But Melo just doesn't believe in evil. Seeing Ariza's one-on-one defense, he was full of firepower. He was turned into a blacksmith by the Rockets in consecutive individual singles.

The Rockets have been very strong in the past two seasons. Their star James Harden has entered his peak period and is unstoppable in averaging 30+ triple-doubles per game.

Unknowingly, the Rockets already have the strength to compete for the championship.

The Knicks played passively from the first quarter, and Anthony, the team boss, has an unshirkable responsibility.

After the game, the New York media criticized Anthony's offense for the first time in the form of news. They believed that his poor touch and blindly forcing shots were hurting the team. They should put down their past airs and transfer the right to shoot to Jokic and Butler. The two younger brothers can make the Knicks' offense smooth.

It's a pity that Anthony obviously doesn't want to admit that he is old, let alone transfer the right to fire to the hands of his two younger brothers.

This twisting force reminded Lu Yong more than once of Klay Thompson in later generations. After his strength declined, he made strong shots against the defense. In the end, it not only backfired on himself, but also seriously hurt the team.

On the 10th, the Knicks challenged the Grizzlies away from home and lost 104-109, suffering a two-game losing streak.

安东尼这场出手不多，9投4中，三分球2中0，罚球2中2，得到10分4篮板3助攻1抢断。

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Anthony was obviously paddling tonight.

He looked lazy on the court and didn't try his best at all, as if he was using this way to express his dissatisfaction.

After this game, fans realized that the Knicks were no longer united and a big problem was likely to occur.

Seeing that Anthony looked like a dead pig and was not afraid of boiling water, relying on his status as the King of New York to force the coaching staff to compromise, Lu Yong was really angry this time.

In the past, he could turn a blind eye to Anthony's great achievements in establishing a dynasty for the Knicks, and defaulted to Melo's singles to find game status.

But in the loss to the Grizzlies, Anthony almost had the words "acting clearly" written on his face. This arrogant attitude completely angered Lu Yong.

He can accept that Anthony's efficiency has declined due to the dual effects of age and injuries, but he cannot accept Anthony's behavior of ignoring discipline and disrupting the team!

The first thing Lu Yong did after the game was to leave Anthony alone in the locker room and hold a small meeting with other players, saying that he would solve the hidden dangers as soon as possible to avoid causing turmoil in the locker room.

If other players are led astray by Anthony's behavior and their blood and passion gradually extinguish, the Knicks will completely lose the chance to compete for the championship this season.

Returning to the arena, Lu Yong immediately called James Dolan and asked him to sit in the office.

When Dolan walked into the office, Lu Yong said with a serious face: "I called you here today mainly because I want to discuss the issue about Cameron. He has had big problems in the past few games. He not only ignored discipline, but also seriously affected his health. The atmosphere in the locker room, I need to completely fix that."

Hearing this, Dolan frowned and asked tentatively: "Do you want to trade Cameron?"

Lu Yong looked directly at Dolan and did not reply.

Seeing that Lu Yong had no intention of speaking, Dolan lit a cigar with a gloomy face and said: "Sorry, Lu, Cameron is not only the star of the team now, he is also the spiritual sustenance of the city of New York. The team has won three championships. If I trade him, I guarantee that countless fans will come to scold me tomorrow."

"Maybe it's just a lack of communication on your part?"

"I think you can sit down and talk together after you calm down. I believe Cameron will understand your painstaking efforts."

When Dolan learned that Lu Yong would probably not renew his contract with the team in the summer, he would definitely side with Anthony on this matter, but he did not want to offend Lu Yong, a well-connected championship coach, so he could only be a Peacemaker and slime.

Lu Yong's departure cannot be changed. Dolan must keep the superstar Anthony.

If both Lu Yong and Anthony leave next year, the Knicks will suffer a huge loss.

After listening to James Dolan's words, Lu Yong just smiled softly, and he already had the answer in his heart.

Since Dolan doesn't want to be the villain, Lu Yong, who is coaching New York in his last season, naturally won't force it.

This season, he just wants to leave the Knicks with a championship and tell everyone with his proud head raised that I never owe New York.

Entering December, the Knicks lost to the Trail Blazers in their first game.

安东尼的表现还是一如既往的糟糕，19投6中，三分球4中1，罚球4中4，得到17分5篮板2助攻。

Jokic and Butler are both more efficient than Anthony, and it is clear who loses.

It seems that Lu Yong deliberately asked Anthony to play more and used the losing game to show the fans where the root of the problem lies.

More and more fans have joined the crusade against Anthony. Lu Yong is waiting in silence for the opportunity, and when the time is right, he will push Anthony, the darling of New York, into the cold palace in one fell swoop.

In January, the Knicks' overall performance was still good. They won more and lost less against the top teams in the East and West, and their reputation has improved.

The only exception is Anthony, whose patience with New York fans is dwindling as his lackadaisical attitude is exposed on the court.

While the entire Knicks are getting back on track, Anthony's independence looks even more glaring.

On the 22nd, the Knicks suffered an upset loss to the Eastern Conference underdog Magic 96-112. A bad team whose leading scorer was Evan Fournier.

安东尼出战38分钟，26投9中，三分球8中2，罚球5中4，得到24分5篮板1助攻，出手数比得分还多。

约基奇14投8中，三分球3中1，罚球6中5，得到22分11篮板6助攻1抢断。他命中率57.1%，打爆了“白魔兽”武切维奇，一共只有14次出手。

巴特勒本场打的也不错，14投7中，三分球4中2，罚球7中7，得到23分6篮板4助攻2抢断，攻的十分坚决。

Lu Yong has not talked to Anthony alone this month. He knows that there are already cracks in the relationship between the two, and talking too much is just a waste of time.

After losing to the underdog Magic, the Knicks' record reached 33 wins and 12 losses, ranking third in the league behind the Warriors and Spurs.In February, the relationship within the Knicks became increasingly tense. Former younger brother Butler's dissatisfaction with Anthony was visible to the naked eye, and he even publicly expressed his dissatisfaction in front of the media.

He just signed a maximum salary with the Knicks in the summer. However, this season, due to Anthony's too many mindless shots, his personal data declined instead of increasing, and there was a slight decline.

In this case, Butler will naturally have opinions, and the relationship with Anthony has dropped to a freezing point.

In addition, Jokic, Harris, Brogdon and others also expressed their dissatisfaction with Anthony, but due to Anthony's status, it did not escalate to a fierce verbal conflict.

Anthony's performance during this period can be said to be disgusting. He successfully made himself a loner and isolated by his teammates.

Lu Yong witnessed all this happening but did not stop it.

When Anthony is isolated by his teammates on the court and dissatisfied with fans off the court, his halo as the King of New York will dim sooner or later.

Once he completely annoys everyone and loses the trust of his teammates and the support of the fans, Lu Yong will naturally relegate him to the sidelines.

By then, neither the management, the league, nor the fans could find fault with him. Lu Yong had already given Anthony enough face by not flipping the table on the spot.

The Knicks don't look as strong as they did when they won the championship this season, but Lu Yong still has solid control over the locker room, which is why he hasn't made a move yet.

Anthony has brought three championships to New York. He is now the totem of this city. To abandon a star of this level, Lu Yong needs some means and time.

After the All-Star weekend, the Knicks suffered another upset.

They lost to the Mavericks 104-128.

Barnes scored 42 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists to defeat Melo. His former defeated opponent turned around and sang. An angry Anthony smashed the basketball in the final quarter and received a technical foul.

Anthony was obviously competing with Barnes this time. However, he shot very well, making 27 of 9 shots, 7 of 1 three-pointers, 6 of 5 free throws, and scored 24 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 assist.

约基奇15投9中，三分球2中1，罚球3中2，贡献21分10篮板5助攻1盖帽，状态火热。

巴特勒12投7中，三分球3中1，罚球8中7，得到22分5篮板3助攻2抢断1盖帽，也有不俗发挥。

Both of these two players have higher offensive efficiency than Anthony, but their combined shots are the same as Anthony's.

As the nominal second and third leaders of the Knicks, the two have been very depressed this season. They have long lost contact with Anthony off the court, and they don't even talk to each other in daily training.

For a time, there were more and more voices on the Internet supporting Lu Yong and letting Anthony play as a substitute.

External public opinion has gradually changed from believing in Anthony to saying that Anthony is a cancer.

Fans can't understand why Anthony became so lonely after returning from injury?

The decline in offensive efficiency is not the most terrible thing. What is terrible is that Anthony is unwilling to admit that he has slipped from his peak period. A large number of singles with the ball seriously hurt the team.

At the press conference, a reporter asked Lu Yong to evaluate Anthony's performance and summarize the reasons for the team's loss.

Lu Yong did not respond implicitly this time and directly pointed out the reason for the loss, "It is very simple. The loss in this game was because Cameron shot too many shots that he should not have taken. He ignored the tactics arranged by the coaching staff and There was almost no cooperation between teammates, which is why the team lost unexpectedly.”

The reporters were all surprised. They didn't expect that Lu Yong would not even try to pretend this time, but would directly point out the contradiction with his face.

"The Knicks should have been the league's biggest favorite this year, but unfortunately, Cameron is destroying these good prospects. He takes himself too seriously and is unwilling to accept the fact that his state is declining. I know many fans say this I won’t be happy, but after so many games, everyone knows that what I said is true, and Cameron’s stubbornness is destroying this team.”

The reporter asked: "Can you tell us your next plan?"

Lu Yong shrugged his shoulders and said with a smile: "I am a coach with professional ethics. Although what happened within the team makes me angry, the season is not over. All I can do is try to lead the team on the right track. Knicks There are many young people with dreams who work hard in every game and fight until the last minute to win. Even for them, I will take the Knicks to the Finals."

Anthony is a person with strong self-esteem. Of course he did not agree with Lu Yong's words and said firmly: "I don't think all this is my fault. I have been playing this way in the past few years. Time will prove that I am Yes."

Anthony knows that his decline is a fact, but he still refuses to admit that his style of play is hurting the team, and his personality has never changed.

In his previous life, he had a very bad relationship with D'Antoni, one of the team's coaches, and also had a falling out with Phil Jackson, who was the team's general manager at the time.

The reason has always been this. While his age is changing, the league environment is changing, and his teammates are changing, Anthony is reluctant to change himself.

Although he won three Olympic gold medals, was selected as one of the 3 NBA superstars, and scored a career total of 75 points, he still could not get rid of the label of "cancer player" until the day he retired.

As soon as the news came out, public opinion spread instantly.

Almost all sports media have published news about internal strife related to the Knicks.

Lu Yong's comments on Anthony after the game made headlines on sports searches.

The media has speculated whether the Knicks will suffer an overturn in the first round this season and be affected by internal conflicts and end their record of reaching the Finals for four consecutive years.

There are also fans who support Lu Yong after watching the news, hoping that Lu Yong can put Anthony into the cold palace, directly kick him out of the rotation bench, and use a lineup without Anthony to win the championship.

Once similar sounds were released, more and more fans online began to join in.

They are all die-hard fans of the Knicks, and they will support their home team whether Anthony is in New York or not.

What Anthony did during this period was undoubtedly excessive. New York fans spontaneously boycotted Melo, begging Lu Yong to lead the team through the difficulties, make Anthony the starter, and lead the team to win another championship.

Famous commentator Charles Barkley also participated and posted: "I think Lu Yong should do what he wants to do. Even if the team does not have Cameron, the Knicks still have the ability to compete for the championship."

"Cameron has indeed made great contributions to the Knicks' dynasty over the years, but what I want to say is, don't forget that Lu led rookie Durant to win the championship when he was coaching the SuperSonics."

"Lu Yong, who left Anthony, is still the best coach in the league, but Anthony, who left Lu Yong, has never proven that he has the ability to lead the team to compete for the championship!"

Kenny Smith said: "This is definitely the most interesting thing this season. After half a season, New York fans originally supported Melo, but now they all support Lu Yong. I think the matter will be resolved soon. Anthony is miserable, he must pay the price for his actions!" (End of Chapter)