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11/21/2024 06:53:53 pm

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Knicks Rumors: Ex-Knick Amar'e Stoudemire Rants About Former Coaches 'Wasting' Him and Carmelo Anthony

Amar'e Stoudemire (L) and Carmelo Anthony

(Photo : Getty Images) Amar'e Stoudemire (L) and Carmelo Anthony during their time together in New York. Stoudemire recently shared his sentiments regarding how his coaches had "wasted" his five-year partnership with Anthony.

Amar'e Stoudemire did not win many titles during his entire 13-year career. Aside from two Western Conference finals appearances with the Phoenix Suns in 2004-2005 and 2009-2010, Stoudemire's whole career was riddled with injuries and missed chances.

After spending his first eight NBA seasons in Phoenix, he opted out of his contract and was signed by the New York Knicks in 2010. Hopes of finally winning a championship were abuzz as he reunited with his former Suns coach Mike D'Antoni. Nothing extraordinary happened during that season until the team was able to trade for Carmelo Anthony before the February 2011 deadline.

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High hopes were again in the air at Madison Square Garden with an "on-paper" deadly combination of Stoudemire and Anthony. But the best that the duo achieved in half a decade together was an Eastern Conference semifinals finish in 2012-2013, losing to the Indiana Pacers in six games.

Recently reflecting on his five-year stint with the Knicks, the 2003 Rookie of the Year and six-time All-Star was regretful about not making the most out of his partnership with Anthony during their primes.

Stoudemire blamed his coaches - most likely D'Antoni and Mike Woodson - for not using the both of them properly on the basketball court, which only led to a string of heartaches for the high-profile franchise.

"I don't think we had enough opportunities to play together," Stoudemire told the New York Post's Marc Berman. "I moved to the bench and (became the) sixth, seventh man. When I was in the game, Melo, he was out of the game and vice versa. When we did play together, we showed some flashes of what we could do on the pick-and-roll."

He said that the "pick-and-roll offense" involving himself and Anthony was never maximized by his coaches, particularly citing Melo's outside shooting and ball-handling and his penchant for attacking the basket as "a pretty good combination".

In some ways, Stoudemire's sentiments do make sense as their skills would have jelled brightly on offense if they were given more time on the floor together.

However, NBC Sports' Dan Feldman has an answer to the question of why D'Antoni and Woodson did not fancy the two on the court for extended periods: defense.

In his write-up, Feldman argued that "Melo and Stoudemire were a dreadful defensive combination, especially as power forward and center", which are said to be "their best offensive positions".

D'Antoni and Woodson are actually never known to be defensive coaches and so using the two simultaneously up front to boost the offense would be more of a disadvantage than to let defensive wizard Tyson Chandler stay with Anthony in the starting lineup.

The past is already gone for Anthony and Stoudemire, who admitted that his days as an NBA player is numbered so he is "just cherishing the moment."

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