New York Knicks head coach Mike Woodson is very much on the hot seat, and he knows it. Woodson admits that the 19-30 Knicks have been a disaster. JR Smith is worried about Woodson’s job, while Carmelo Anthony has reportedly been consulted on whether or not to get rid of the coach. Per Newsday:
“This year has been, for me, . . . kind of a disaster from a coaching standpoint in trying to get players to compete and play at a high level,” Woodson said on ESPN Radio Thursday. “That’s the frustrating part about it because I know we’re better than we’ve shown. We still got a chance though.”
The Knicks still are in the playoff race, sitting just 21/2 games out of the Eastern Conference’s eighth and final spot. But a big part of Woodson’s job is getting players to compete and play at a high level. The Knicks haven’t done that in a season that started with championship aspirations.
With each losing streak, speculation grows that Woodson, who is 91-64 in the regular season as Knicks coach, could be in his final days on the bench.
“I can’t worry about that,” Woodson said after practice. “I really can’t. That’s not sitting at the top of my list right now. It really isn’t. My job is to coach this team as long as I’m coaching and try to get results. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
“I believe in the coach, I believe in the system,” (J.R.) Smith said. “It worked last year, don’t see why it wouldn’t work this year. We just got to all 100 percent buy into it.”
Smith said “without a doubt” he’s afraid that if the Knicks continue losing, it will cost Woodson his job. But Smith said Woodson isn’t letting the rumors affect him.
