The clock isn't always Carmelo Anthony's friend

In case you missed it, last week The New York Post delved into Carmelo Anthony's love of timepieces. Not only does the Melo man invest millions in his watch collection, he really digs deep into the nuts and bolts of those elegant machines.

"I don't like to boast, but I am like one of the first guys [in basketball] to embrace the world of timepieces and watches. I know the history for each brand and [I like] sharing that knowledge with everybody else. I would rather meet the watchmakers than the watch [company] CEOs."

Interesting thing about watches -- they tell time. Melo surrounds himself with time-telling devices when he is at home. On the court, however, one often wonders whether the Knicks' star -- or the rest of team, for that matter -- fully understand the concept of time.

In each of the last two games -- a close win against the Raptors and a close loss to the Hornets -- the Knicks displayed a level of shot-clock awareness on par with anything from the nadir of the Mike Woodson era.

Against Toronto, with the Knicks nursing a three-point lead and 37 seconds left on the game clock, Melo shoots with 10 seconds left on the shot clock:

This wouldn't be a bad move if the Knicks were getting a quality, high-percentage look, something preferably much closer to the basket. Instead, Melo shoots that off-the-dribble elbow jumper he can get pretty much any time he wants. That look wasn't worth taking the shot 10 seconds early.

Wednesday's botched possession came in a slightly different situation, with the Knicks tied instead of leading. This time, Melo -- with a great deal of help from Jose Calderon -- made the opposite mistake:

Melo does a good job of shaking Marvin Williams, but by the time he does he's forced to rush the shot to beat the clock. Seriously, how often do you see Melo hit the backboard on a jumper? Had Melo and/or Calderon started to make their moves earlier, Melo could have ended up in a much better position to take that shot. Charlotte was getting the ball back -- and had a timeout to advance the ball -- even if that shot went in. Sure, milking the clock was important, but not nearly as important as making the shot.

For years now this team has operated under the assumption that Carmelo Anthony can -- and will -- hit any shot at the end of games. And for years now they have been proven wrong. They can't afford to ignore the shot and gameclocks based on the notion that, no matter what goes down, Melo will bail them out with a bucket.