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Phil's players not meeting expectations

The New York Knicks are 30 games into an 82-game season. It’s still too early to make any sweeping conclusions about any one players’ performance.

But based on what we’ve seen thus far, a good portion of the players acquired by team president Phil Jackson over the summer haven’t performed to expectation.

Here’s a quick look:

Carmelo Anthony: Anthony is scoring fewer points per game this season than he had in his previous two, but a better way to judge his impact on offense is this: With Anthony on the floor, the Knicks are scoring 107.4 points per 100 possessions. That would be the sixth-highest rate in the league. When he’s off the floor, they rank 27th. His defense has been an issue this season, though. He ranks 78th out of 80 small forwards in defensive real plus-minus.

Jose Calderon: Calderon has admittedly struggled with his consistency since returning from a calf injury that forced him to miss the first 13 games. He’s playing the same minutes that he was last season but scoring two fewer points per game. The veteran point guard also hasn’t had the effect on Carmelo that many thought he would when Jackson acquired him in a trade from Dallas. Case in point: Melo is shooting 26 percent from beyond the arc with Calderon on the court and 41 percent with him off the floor.

Samuel Dalembert: He was recently taken out of the starting five by head coach Derek Fisher and appears to be a bad fit for the triangle offense. The Knicks’ offensive rating is 13 points higher when Dalembert is on the bench. It's fair to say Dalembert hasn’t yet made the impact that Jackson had hoped for when he acquired him in the Tyson Chandler trade.

Jason Smith: Jackson used the Knicks’ tax-payer’s exception to sign Smith to a one-year, $3.3 million contract over the summer. Through the first 30 games, Smith hasn't yet met the team's expectation. Opponents have outscored the Knicks by 12.6 points per 100 possessions when Smith is on the floor. His rebounding rate -- the number of available rebounds he grabs while on the floor -- is a career-low 8.4.

Shane Larkin: The Knicks struggled when Larkin started in place of Jose Calderon, going 3-10. Overall, Larkin is shooting 41 percent from the field and averaging 5.5 points per game and 2.2 assists in 23 minutes. To be fair to Jackson here, the team didn’t plan on having Larkin play such a prominent role when it acquired him from Dallas in the Chandler trade.

Quincy Acy: Forced to start at power forward due to an injury to Andrea Bargnani, Acy has filled in admirably. But he seems to hurt the Knicks on offense. New York scores 7.7 points more per 100 possessions when Acy is off the floor. Again, to be fair to Jackson, he never intended for Acy to play a starter’s role.

Cole Aldrich: Aldrich’s numbers have remained fairly consistent from last season to this one, though his rebounding rate and blocks have decreased. It’s probably fair to say that Aldrich has performed the way Jackson and the Knicks coaching staff expected.

Travis Wear: Wear has shown a knack for operating in the team’s triangle offense. The Knicks are nearly 12 points better per 100 possessions when Wear is on the court compared to when he is off the floor.

Cleanthony Early: Early underwent arthroscopic knee surgery a little more than two weeks into the season, so it is too early to draw any conclusions on the rookie.

Travis Outlaw: Knicks waived Outlaw -- and his guaranteed money -- to make room for Travis Wear.

Thanasis Antetokounmpo: It's way too early to make any judgments on Antetokounmpo, who has been impressing coaches with his play on the Knicks’ D League team.

Question: What do you think of the moves made by Phil Jackson in the offseason?

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