?Couldn?t guard anybody. Simple as that,? Hornacek said of a starting lineup that featured Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Rose and Kristaps Porzingis. ?They should be embarrassed by the way they couldn?t guard anybody.
?So those guys are happy scoring their points. We?re going to lose every game.?
Hornacek arrived early to his postgame presser ? just a few minutes after the final buzzer ? and left the arena long before his players got dressed. He wanted no part of sticking around Friday, and was clearly ticked off about the effort from a starting lineup that allowed the Nuggets (24-29) to score more points in regulation than any other New York opponent this season.
"Look at the difference between the first group and the second. They play with effort,? Hornacek said. ?They get after guys. A guy who got the ball, they get up on him. They help each other out. First group didn?t do that.?
(On the KP - Jokic matchup)
?With the length, it should help, he should be quicker than that guy,? Hornacek said. ?He should be able to get up on him. He might get overpowered at some point but a lot of (Jokic?s) shots, he just lined ?em up. Spun the ball around with the seams and just shot it in. If our guys think that?s a challenged shot, we need to redefine what that is.?
When Rose was on the floor, the Knicks were outscored by 15 points. When Anthony ? who dropped 33 points ? was in the game, New York was outscored by 13.
?They?re very good offensively and they?re terrible at defense,? Hornacek said of the starting lineup, which was missing Joakim Noah for a third straight game because of a hamstring strain. ?(Friday night), they got zero stops if you look at their starters down the line, (the Nuggets) must have shot 75 percent against them.?
Anthony agreed the Knicks should be embarrassed, but stopped short of fully endorsing Hornacek?s critique.
?If he?s saying it, that?s what he sees and that?s what it is. Some games we bring it, some games we don?t,? Anthony said.