Things are getting intense in New York. Seeing as they’ve so far been devoid of any passion whatsoever, this might actually be an improvement.
On the same day Carmelo Anthony and Iman Shumpert had a contentious exchange over a defensive “miscommunication” in the Knicks’ loss to the Pelicans on Sunday, Metta World Peace and Kenyon Martin nearly came to blows in a pregame workout, ESPN.com reports.
The verbal argument, which was described as “heated” and “intense,” preceded a frustrating team performance against the Pelicans. The Knicks suffered numerous defensive breakdowns that left New Orleans sharpshooter Ryan Anderson open time and again for his 31 points. Shumpert and Anthony’s disagreement appeared to stem from Anthony’s failure to step up onto Anderson when Shumpert was screened on a defensive possession.
It is unclear what caused the dust-up between Martin and World Peace, but given those two’s history, anything is possible. What’s not unclear is that the Knicks clearly are a mess — whether before, during or after games.
