If the New York Knicks are not panicked, they are doing a bad job of showing it. The team is currently sitting at 1-3 on the season and while it is extremely early, the start is not what anyone expected. Pairing the slow start with the loss of Tyson Chandler for the next few weeks puts the entire team on notice. While head coach Mike Woodson continues to stress everyone is calm, the players are reacting a different way.
Following the loss to the Charlotte Bobcats, Carmelo Anthony held a players-only meeting, questioning the effort of everyone on the court. The team discussed everything from turning the ball over, which the Knicks are doing an average of 16.8 times per game to stepping up while other players sit out.
"We shut the door after the game and talked it out a little bit and tried to figure out what was happening," Anthony said, via ESPNNewYork.com. "We've got to want it, we've got to want to do it. We've got to believe in ourselves, and right now we're playing like we don't even believe in ourselves. It's just effort."
On paper the Knicks look like a top team, but so far things are not translating on the court. JR Smith is out with an injury and then will serve a league-served suspension. Chandler is gone 4-6 weeks with a fracture in his leg. Amar'e Stoudemire is on a heavy minute limitation as he struggles with health. The team has lost three games in a row, preparing to face the Bobcats once again on Friday. Raymond Felton went on ESPN radio to personally apologize to fans for what is taking place to start the year.
"Nobody is happy right now," Felton said, via The Michael Kay Show on ESPN New York 98.7 on Thursday. "We weren't expecting to be 1-3.
"All I can say to the fans is we do apologize," Felton said during the radio interview. "I am speaking on behalf of myself and my teammates. We do apologize for the way we have been playing. We are not playing Knicks basketball right now. We understand that. We are going to play harder, we are going to play better. It's early on in the season. Just be patient with us."
Felton agrees that intensity is an issue and is admitting he feels a little panicked over the current slump. Woodson on the other hand sounds calm and collected as fans begin to question his job security. The head coach is stressing that while the record might not show it, the team is improving and everything will turn around once they get a few wins under their belts.
"Expectations are high and they should be," Woodson said. "I am not running from that as the coach. As the owner, Mr. Dolan being an owner of our team, he has every right to voice his opinion. This is his team, we all work for Mr. Dolan and I am happy to be a worker for Mr. Dolan. But at the end of the day, I still have a job I have to do. Right now our team is not playing at the level where I expect it should be. That is on me. It is not on Jim. It is on Mike Woodson."
