Phil Jackson: Carmelo Has Had a Tough Year

“He’s had to carry a big load. It’s been a tough year for him. But it’s been a tough year for everyone. It’s not just isolated with him. But I think he feels the weight of it a lot more on himself.”

“Well, with J.R. [Smith] playing at the level he’s playing at now, yes,” Jackson said. “When Carmelo had to carry the load in scoring, a lot of times on his own back, and other people weren’t stepping into helping him carry that load, which Amar’e [Stoudemire] and J.R. have done, it could be a struggle. But now they have more than one option out there on the floor, and I think that we’ll give teams trouble.”

via Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN New York.