WE’RE BACK: Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire knowing they will be the focus of Mike Woodson’s offense. (Jeff Zelevansky)
Jeremy Lin may be a global phenomenon, but he is no longer a Knicks phenomenon. Linsanity was the flavor of February, but he appears not to be new interim coach Mike Woodson’s favorite dish.
Woodson, calling Lin “in a learning stage,’’ said yesterday he is turning the focus of his new deliberate offense to his bread and butter: Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire, the Knicks’ two stars who combine to make $37 million this season.
Lin is expected to remain the starting point guard for now, but Woodson indicated he’s all about veterans. That could mean backup point guard Baron Davis or even his former Hawks favorite Mike Bibby, who has been out of the rotation, could supplant Lin eventually as the starter.
In fact, the de-emphasis of Mike D’Antoni’s speedball system that relies heavily on a penetrating point guard could affect whether the Knicks want to spend all or part of their $5 million mid-level exception on keeping their cash cow, Lin, next season.
D’Antoni was trying to build the offense around Lin’s decision-making and penetration as they went 8-1 in February once he commandeered the point.
Asked if this is now Melo’s team again, Woodson said, “It’s everybody’s ballclub. But I want everyone to know that when it comes [crunch] time and I got to get a big shot, I’m going to Melo and Amar’e and guys who have done it. A lot of these guys are young and still trying to figure it out. Those guys have been around the block a number of times and have done it. They’ll be go-to guys coming down the stretch.’’
Speedball died in Westchester yesterday when Woodson staged his first practice. Reporters were allowed into practice earlier than normal to watch the implementation of structured, deliberate set plays. It was a far cry from the read-and-react, spread-the-wealth offense which Lin directed and thrived in.
“He’s going to utilize his leading scorers, myself and Carmelo Anthony, make sure he takes advantage of every opportunity on the court,’’ Stoudemire said. “We’ve been profound scorers all our careers. He wants to make sure we take advantage of that.’’
Melo, in conflict with D’Antoni since he arrived last February, took a poke at D’Antoni’s philosophy. Anthony wants to be the main man again, but he needs to improve on his 40-percent shooting percentage.
“I had to sacrifice something,’’ Anthony said. “In that system, there [was] a lot of open space. Spread the court out. Whoever gets it, goes. Whoever’s open, shoots the basketball. That could help us. That could hurt us.”
Earlier this week, D’Antoni inadvertently referred to Lin as “a rookie point guard’’ and essentially he is, having played just 29 games for Golden State last season.
Woodson takes after his first NBA coach, Knicks legend Red Holzman, with the philosophy rookie types should not have too large a role.
“I remember playing for a great coach in Red Holzman,’’ Woodson said. “He taught me rookies were to sit, listen and learn. He taught me a valuable lesson way back when. I listened and learned a lot as a rookie.’’
One Knicks source said D’Antoni became too infatuated with Lin, saying, “He force-fed him because he saved his job.’’
“It’s going to be different for us,’’ Stoudemire said. “Coach Woodson has his offense and offensive schemes. We have to readjust to that. We are all receiving it well. We’re exciting about it. We can’t wait to play in the new offense. ‘’
Lin was less enthusiastic. Lin said Woodson’s offense will be “challenging’’ for him, saying D’Antoni’s system was “perfect for me.’’
“We’re going to use more post-ups,’’ Lin said. “I don’t know what the shot distribution is going to be, but I think the way we get the shots will be different.’’
Woodson has talked about more post-ups for Stoudemire, who has made a living in D’Antoni’s up-tempo system. While the Knicks are ranked 10th in defensive efficiency, they slipped dramatically during the six-game losing streak that was broken Wednesday vs. Portland in Woodson’s stirring debut.
Woodson has an interim title and owner James Dolan said Woodson will be reevaluated after the season. One person familiar with Dolan said Woodson has a shot because the owner rewards a job well done.
Woodson mentioned his assistant-coaching stint in Detroit when he won a title with Larry Brown in 2005. The more Woodson talked yesterday, the more different he sounded than D’Antoni.
“We did everything defense-first and won an NBA title,’’ Woodson said. “ Deep into the playoffs, it’s teams who really defend and rebound. They figure out the offense. Teams that defend and rebound are the teams that come out with championships.’’