Melo wants Knicks staff to call him out in front of teammates for mistakes

Carmelo Anthony may be one of the NBA's biggest stars, but that doesn't mean he deserves preferential treatment from his coaches. This, according to the man himself.

Anthony wants the New York Knicks coaching staff to get on him more when he makes mistakes, and to do so in front of his teammates.

"Call it out in the film session so everybody can see that and hear that," he said this week, according to ESPN's Ian Begley. "By them doing that, it kind of forces me to be at the top level of my game on both ends of the court. I think it brings the best out of me and if you bring the best out of me, I think it will bring the best out of everyone on the team."

Coming off the worst season in franchise history, an uptick in accountability in the Knicks locker room can't hurt. And if Anthony's to be believed, he's far from the only player on the team looking to get dressed down whenever necessary.

"It's more of a collective unit," Anthony said. "... We're just sitting down with (members of the coaching staff and video department) and sitting down with players on the team kind of going through different scenarios, different situations and just kind of wanting to be held accountable out there."

Despite that desire to be called out, Anthony is also working hard to limit the number of times such scorn will be necessary this season, particularly at the defensive end where his game has always lagged behind his potent offensive skills.

"I feel good on both ends of the court," said Anthony, who's still working himself back into peak form after missing nearly eight months due to knee surgery. "Mentally, I'm in a good space, physically I feel like I'm almost there. Still got a little bit more work to do, but as of right now I'm headed in the right direction."

- With h/t to PBT