http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/7687392/new-york-knicks-problems-bigger-coach

From espn insider today:

Carmelo shot 39.3 percent in January, 39.8 percent in February and 38.9 percent in March. He's at 40.1 percent at home and 39.9 percent on the road. He shoots 39.8 percent with Lin, 39.9 percent withIman Shumpert and 40.1 percent with everybody else, according to NBA.com's new whizbang stats tool.

Change the conditions any way you want basically: He has been a 40 percent shooter this season, and scouts will tell you that he's not getting the same lift or explosion he used to. That is a much bigger problem than whether he's breaking plays in D'Antoni's offense.

It seems a bit early for Anthony to begin declining, since he's only 27. But he has a big frame for a wing and isn't a great outside shooter; historically, players like this have tended to peak earlier.

And it's a double concern because Stoudemire has clearly lost much of the explosive first step that made him such a tough cover for opposing bigs. This was a major worry when New York signed him because of his two microfractures, and it's why neither Phoenix nor any other club was willing to give him the five-year, $95 million contract the Knicks did. Stoudemire's decline has been as visible defensively as offensively; whereas he used to rely on freakish athleticism to overcome fundamental mistakes, now he just makes mistakes from which he can't recover. Again, he put up great numbers for D'Antoni a season ago, but has declined rapidly this season.