Carmelo Anthony has an issue with the Knicks’ offense.
The former Knicks star did not like what he saw in Monday night’s 121-90 loss to the Detroit Pistons — a road blowout that marked the Knicks’ fourth consecutive defeat.
“The late-game offense becomes so, so predictable, man,” Anthony, now an NBC analyst, said Tuesday night on the network’s “NBA Showtime” studio show.
“The shot creation, that burden on Jalen Brunson is too heavy on his shoulders from a night-to-night basis. … The margins are very thin, because without easy offense, the Knicks’ missed shots turn into run outs the other way.”
Brunson attempted 21 field goals in Monday’s loss, compared to just four apiece from Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby.
Towns finished with six points on 1-of-4 shooting in 23 minutes, while Anunoby ended up with five points on 1-of-4 shooting in 29 minutes.
The Knicks’ reliance on Brunson was a common critique of previous head coach Tom Thibodeau, whom Mike Brown replaced before this season.
“I was watching the game [on Monday] night, and I’m like, ‘Where’s KAT? Where’s OG?’” said Anthony, who himself was a star scorer with the Knicks over seven seasons from 2011-17.
“We can’t rely on [Tyler] Kolek like that. What he gives us is a plus. He can get down, he can play off of pick-and-roll, but on a night-to-night basis, who is gonna be the Knicks’ second option? And the second option cannot be indecisive.”
Kolek scored nine points on 3-of-8 shooting in 19 minutes off the bench Monday.
Only Brunson, who scored 25 points on 10-of-21; Mikal Bridges (10 points on 10 field-goal attempts); and Miles “Deuce” McBride (17 points on nine attempts) took more shots than Kolek.
For the season, Brunson entered Wednesday averaging 29.3 points on 21.8 shot attempts per game, while Towns ranked second on the team with 21.5 points and 14.5 attempts per night.
The fourth loss in a row marked a season-long streak for the Knicks, who began Wednesday just 5-6 since winning the NBA Cup championship in Las Vegas last month.
But the Knicks still went into Wednesday night’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Madison Square Garden with a 23-13 record, which was good for third place in the Eastern Conference behind the Pistons and Boston Celtics.
Monday’s game in Detroit marked the Knicks’ first meeting of the season with the Pistons, whom they defeated in six games in the first round of the playoffs last year.
“When you just focus on Jalen Brunson and there’s no movement, there’s no offense, there’s stagnation, and you’re getting — I don’t want to say ‘get punked’ — but you’re getting punked in a sense,” Anthony said.
“The Knicks will take this game and build off of this. I don’t think this is a time to panic, but they have to get their stuff together.”
