Jim Boeheim Defends Carmelo Anthony, rips other Knicks

Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim still has love for his former star Carmelo Anthony, so much so that Boeheim recently blamed all other factors for the New York Knicks falling to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals while speaking to the Syracuse Post-Standard.

“Not on that team.He did what he can do. He played very well the final game. Everybody’s killing him but Tyson Chandler just didn’t try to catch the ball. He threw him the ball and Tyson Chandler went like this” and the paper said Boeheim dodged in his chair.

[Tyson] was wide open,’’ Boeheim added. “He should have been looking for the ball right here. Kenyon Martin should have been looking for the ball. They both went like this [Boeheim dodged again]. Carmelo gets turnovers and the announcers aren’t smart enough to even think, ‘Well, the guy should try to catch the ball.’

“Tyson Chandler claims he never gets the ball,’’ Boeheim continued.” He doesn’t try to get the ball. He had two points and Hibbert had [21].’’

“What was the difference in the series?,’’ Boeheim said. “Raymond Felton was 0-for-7. Lance Stephenson had [25] points. They’re going to blame it on Carmelo? I told him when he went to New York, ‘They’re going to blame it on you.’

“They have no chance to win,’’ Boeheim continued, according to the Syracuse daily. “Pablo Prigioni has never scored against [Team USA]. We played Argentina six or seven times in different events. He hasn’t scored against us. You have to have players to win in the NBA.”