SALT LAKE CITY — Carmelo Anthony reclined on a padded seat Wednesday morning, speaking of his shooting touch as an impermanent entity, a feeling that comes and goes without much warning.
“Some days the rhythm is kind of there,” he said as the Knicks wound down their morning shootaround, “and some days the rhythm is not.”
That night, the Knicks lost to the Utah Jazz, 106-85, and it was clear within moments of the opening tipoff that Anthony’s shooting rhythm had not made it to Salt Lake City.
Anthony heaved up two shots within the first 65 seconds and missed them both. The Knicks had already fallen behind, 23-8, when Anthony launched his third attempt, from 21 feet, which clanged wide. With about four minutes left in the quarter, Anthony drew a shooting foul in the paint, but he made only one of his two free throws.