Carmelo calls Rose's disappearance 'a scary situation'

Carmelo Anthony knows how scary it can be to not know where your teammate is when they're supposed to be suiting up next to you.

Derrick Rose's mysterious disappearance ahead of the Knicks' 110-96 loss to the Pelicans on Monday caused a tidal wave of speculation as to why New York's point guard wasn't in uniform. Team officials, teammates, and close associates couldn't reach him until after the game had concluded.

Anthony - who had a rough night for other reasons that didn't involve his missing teammate - said the situation was a first for him.

"I never experienced that," Anthony told Marc Berman of the New York Post. "It was a scary situation to be in. I don't even like thinking about that coming into a game, not knowing where somebody's at, their whereabouts, if they're OK. That's the first thing that comes to mind. I just wanted to make sure he's OK."

It turned out the former MVP had briefly escaped to his hometown of Chicago to see his mother and family. The issue that many had, though, was the fact that Rose failed to update anyone on where he was.

Anthony, however, praised Rose for his courage to stand in front of the team and apologize for his actions.

"You got to respect that," he said. "Somebody addressing the team the way he did. (You) respect that family comes first. I don't know the details. I won't even speak to that. I thought he did his job coming in front of the players and team and addressing the team about the situation and bringing people up to speed."