Carmelo Anthony had a simple message for the 2-4 Knicks.
"Just stick with it," Anthony told his teammates. "It can't get no worse than this."
Expectations were lofty for the Knicks coming into the season. With Tyson Chandler in tow, the Knicks believed they had the best front line in the NBA. Mike D'Antoni went as far as to say his team should contend for an NBA title.
It's early, but after six games, the Knicks don't have the look of a title contender. And, naturally, there is some frustration in the locker room.
"I'm sure they're frustrated," D'Antoni said after the Knicks' loss to the Bobcats on Wednesday. "They didn't want to start off 2-4, but at the same time, there are 60 more games left. So we know what we've got to do.
"They'll hang in there; they're good guys, a good group. We'll solve the problems and we'll get it done here. But it's got to be sooner than later. We've got to get going."
The Knicks allowed the Bobcats to shoot 55 percent from the field on Wednesday, a night after Charlotte lost by 14 to Cleveland.
"Obviously, guys are upset," Chandler said. "Anytime you lose and you lose to a team that you know you should have beat, then you know you're going to be frustrated. If not, we [should] to be in different of sport."
Anthony said players were "down" after losing for the fourth time in five games.
"It's going to be down a little bit after any loss," said Anthony, who scored 32 points, including 22 in the fourth quarter. "But for the most part we want to stay positive. We want to keep a positive locker room. Because once what happens out there on the basketball court starts affecting the locker room, then it's a long battle uphill and we don't want to start that."