The Knicks know their woeful record — and tied for the worst in the NBA, woeful is being kind — has put Mike Woodson under scrutiny and on the proverbial hot seat. They say the blame falls on the players, not the coach, but admit concern it could end up costing Woodson his job.
“Yeah, we’re worried about that,” Carmelo Anthony said Wednesday. “But then again, we’ve got to worry about playing basketball. I think that’s been a problem in New York all this time — everybody worries about what’s being said on the outside. As a team we’ve got to stick together. We’ve got to control our locker room.
“We’ve got to control what happens on the court. That’s by us playing hard, sticking to the gameplan and doing what Coach Woodson says to do out there on the court. We can’t worry about speculation that’s going on outside this building, and we shouldn’t. And as a leader of this team, I’ll try my best not to allow that.”
At 3-13, the Knicks were tied with Milwaukee for the worst record in the league as play began Tuesday night. They’ve lost nine straight, and a club-record seven straight in the Garden.
Anthony said he knows struggles like that in this city will produce back pages and calls for change.
“Welcome to New York. It happens,’’ Anthony said. “Anytime you’re in a situation like this, people try to figure out what’s next. Right now it’s [Woodson]. Yesterday it might have been me. Tomorrow might be me.”
“We’ve got to deal with that. We can’t worry about that. Only thing we can control is what happens in here on the basketball court and go from there. As far as anything else that’s being said we can’t control that.”
The Knicks don’t play again until Thursday against cross-river rival Brooklyn, and while the players aren’t willing to say the Nets game is a must-win to save Woodson, they do acknowledge they have to turn their struggles around soon or their coach could well end up taking the fall for their poor play.
“I hope not,” forward Kenyon Martin said. “I hope it doesn’t, because he cares about the way we play and the way we prepare each and every day.”
After earning their first playoff series win in 13 years last season, Knicks president and general manager Steve Mills exercised the option for next year on Woodson’s deal. Owner Jim Dolan also recently gave Woodson a vote of confidence in a Q & A with The Post. But the Knicks have lost seven straight since, with The Post reporting Dolan has moved off that vote of confidence in the wake of that malaise.
“It’s not about me,” Woodson said. “I’m trying to do the best I can do in terms of getting us out of this slump. And we have to focus on Brooklyn, that’s the next game up.”
Martin defended Woodson, saying his coach doesn’t deserve the flack he has received.
“We need to go out and win a game. The man [does] an excellent job with us. It’s not on him because we’re not getting wins right now,’’ Martin said. “We’re prepared each and every day.
“He put us in the best situation, the best scouting report and everything to go out and perform; and we’re just not getting it done on the court, so it’s on us. And I told him that a few weeks ago. … Coaches put a lot of pressure and responsibility on their shoulders, and they always get the backlash behind it. But it’s on the product on the court. It’s on us to go out and compete, and play well every day.”