Mike Woodson needed a win. He needed a win and lost by a point. Now, New York Knicks fans are wondering if James Dolan is going to back out of his vocal support of the head coach and make a move to help the struggling team. After a late-game loss to the Washington Wizards, Carmelo Anthony is still confident Woodson's job is safe.
The Knicks are currently 7-17 and taking two steps back for every step forward. The record does not meet the season's high expectations after New York added a few big names to the roster. Dolan was not shy about saying he expected to be in the mix for a championship. While there is no telling if the Knicks can make a solid comeback and still make those expectations come true, right now they are the bottom feeders of the league. Many fans are now calling for Woodson's job.
"As far as I'm concerned, he's secure right now. I haven't heard anything," Anthony said, via ESPNNewYork.com. "There's nothing to discuss. He's our coach, and we're rolling with him."
The Knicks have reportedly kicked the tires around on a few other coaching options just to measure the interest level of those available. High on the team's wish list is Jeff Van Gundy, former Knicks coach and current NBA analyst. Van Gundy has been at the top of numerous coaching searches, but has yet to make the job. The New York Post is reporting he is not interested in taking New York over mid-season. If he were to take a head coaching position, it would have to be in a situation where he would get a full training camp first.
Meanwhile, the Knicks continue to sputter along. Losing by one point to the Washington Wizards is certainly not helping. New york had the lead with 24 seconds left to play. Instead of using their foul to give, Bradley Beal went up for a layup giving Washington the one point win. Woodson failed to call a time out as Anthony tried one last off-balanced shot that fell short.
Should Woodson get the blame? There is certainly that argument, but in the end the Knicks have a roster that is better than the Wizards and they continue to underperform. Woodson should have called for a timeout or a foul, but the Knicks should not have been playing desperation basketball.
"That's a tough way to lose a game," Anthony said. "If [Woodson] said it's his fault, there's no need for me to make excuses or talk about it. As players, we have to be smarter. We knew we had timeouts. I was just trying to get a shot."
New York has lost 11 of their last 13 games prior to beating Chicago. Anthony is getting concerned that the team is so down the effort is not there. He has called out both Iman Shumpert and JR Smith to start playing to their talent level. As trade rumors start to become a distraction, so will coaching rumors.