Carmelo Anthony on tanking: 'I don't know how to have that mindset'

With a Wednesday night victory over the Philadelphia 76ers, the New York Knicks are officially on a winning streak.

Unfortunately, given that they're already 11.5 games out of a playoff spot, wins mean little to nothing for the Knicks from here on out, and many fans have instead shifted their attention to the bottom of the standings (New York sits dead last) and the draft lottery.

"I don't know how to have that mindset," Carmelo Anthony said after Wednesday's win, as reported by ESPN's Ian Begley.

"Having that mindset as a basketball player, as a competitor, it's just hard to do unless you don't care about the game, what happens and your performance," Anthony added. "To say that we're going to go out there and we want to lose a basketball game, I think that's a bad mentality to have."

This is the divide that usually exists between fans and players when a team is positioned well for the lottery.

Fans are desperate for a young cornerstone to add to Anthony via the draft - especially in New York, where owning their own first-round pick is a rarity. They see their team in position for - at worst - a top-four pick right now, they know the playoffs are out of reach, and they understand the stakes of short-term pain for long-term gain.

The players themselves, however, are not part of any fan or management tanking plans, and always take the court hoping to come out on the right side of the final score.

Anthony, who has missed 10 games as he battles an ailing knee, is averaging 24 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists for the 7-36 Knicks, who recently snapped a franchise-record, 16-game losing streak.