Is Carmelo Anthony Iso-Ball Killing the New York Knicks' Offense?

With Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire on the same team, things should be good for the New York Knicks.

Unfortunately they aren't, and there are no signs of things getting better any time soon.

There are enough problems at the moment to diagnose, but a growing one is the Knicks offense and the fact that Anthony's tendency to have to play an isolation game is killing them.

Especially in fourth quarters.

There are plenty of things about Mike D'Antoni's system not to like, but one thing it's not made for is for one guy to hold the ball and slow down the tempo and ball movement.

That's what happening entirely too much when Anthony gets the ball in his hands.

Instead of working the ball around to look for the easy shot, the Knicks are often forced to settle for a tough Anthony jumper with four hands in his face.

The odds at succeeding as a team if this trend continues aren't very good.

The Knicks are only a 19-21 team in the 40 regular season games they have played with Anthony in the lineup.

They have the talent to be a much better team than that.

Depending on what side of the fence you are on, some of the blame can go to D'Antoni. His system requires good guard play. That's something the Knicks don't have, and he doesn't adjust to take advantage of the team's strengths.

Anthony is the superstar though, and that means the finger gets pointed at him as well.

The isolation game slows down the tempo way too much. Anthony continuing to hold the ball makes it very easy for teams to guard the Knicks, especially late in games.

Something has to change quickly. If this keeps up it's going to be another long season in the Big Apple.