GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- If it were up to Carmelo Anthony, teams would play fewer sets of consecutive games.
“I don’t know if that will ever happen, but that’s the dream,” Anthony said after practice Saturday. “Maybe it will happen 10 years from now when I’m out of the league.”
The Knicks play 20 back-to-backs this season.
LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzki made similar suggestions earlier this week when they said they’d prefer fewer games in the schedule.
Said Anthony: “Fewer back-to-backs is something we should be talking about.”
The conversation over minutes and games was sparked by the NBA’s decision to play a 44-minute preseason game -- which will be held Sunday at Brooklyn's Barclays Center.
To Anthony, the issue doesn’t lie as much with the minutes in a game than it does with the amount of back-to-backs.
“You go on a road trip and you come back, and you’re gone for 10, 11 days 12 days, and you’ve got a back-to-back the last two days, it’s always that last game that someway, somehow we always seem to get a TV game that last game. So it affects you,” he said.
Cole DNPs 'not a demotion': Derek Fisher explained why he decided not to play Cole Aldrich in the past two preseason games. The coach said it had nothing to do with Aldrich’s performance and everything to do with wanting to see Jason Smith, who missed the first two games while his wife gave birth.
“Jason Smith originally was out for personal reasons, so once Jason was back, Cole had played some, it was important that we got Jason some minutes so we could see how he might be able to help us,” Fisher said. “[Cole’s absence] was just a byproduct of that, nothing else. Cole’s been solid and has done everything we’re asking him to do, so it wasn’t a demotion or any reason related to his performance, just continuing to try and find the best way to put our team together.”
Not Fishing for trouble: For those wondering, Fisher said he hasn't played any pickup basketball recently. But Fisher, who retired from playing last season following an 18-year playing career, is still working out. “I was very fortunate to, other than a right foot injury 14 or 15 years ago, [to have] no other major injuries during my career,” Fisher said. “And I am not going to injure myself seriously playing basketball after my basketball career. That’s for sure.”
STAT sits out: Andrea Bargnani, Travis Outlaw and Amar'e Stoudemire missed practice Saturday. Stoudemire was out for a recovery day. Bargnani has missed the past three games because of a hamstring injury. His status for Monday’s game is unclear.
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