As the Knicks cleaned out their lockers while 16 other teams got ready for the playoffs, Amar’e Stoudemire had no problem discerning why his squad wasn’t among them. It wasn’t a lack of talent but a lack of leadership, an unwillingness to buy into what beleaguered Mike Woodson had been teaching.
“It was an up-and-down year, midseason changes, coach Woodson put together a game plan on both ends of the basketball court and there were times that we didn’t totally buy into it,’’ Stoudemire said after Thursday’s exit interview with team president Phil Jackson.
“We didn’t really focus on mastering the offensive strategies and defensive strategies,” Stoudemire said. “The mind-set is for us whatever the game plan is, we have to stick to the game plan. We’ve got to try to master it, and that way we can be playing at an extremely high level when it’s time for the postseason.’’
But the Knicks aren’t headed to the postseason, missing the playoffs in a year when even the 38-44 Hawks made it, putting Woodson on the chopping block.
Some Knicks had taken thinly veiled shots at the coaching over the course of the season — Carmelo Anthony, who is likely to opt out of his contract and become a free agent, saying they didn’t make the right adjustments after a loss to the Pacers and Tyson Chandler questioning their penchant for switching, saying again Thursday it needs to change. But Stoudemire said the team not buying in was at the root of its failures.
“We had more vets last year that wouldn’t allow you to screw up,’’ Stoudemire said. “We had vocal vets with Rasheed Wallace and Jason Kidd, Kurt Thomas and those guys who’ve been around for years and know how to play the game, and they won’t allow you to take a back seat. This year we didn’t have those guys — we had a fairly young team and we, me personally, had to lead by example.’’
Leading by example may have been harder for Stoudemire because of his health and erratic play. Not including his injury-shortened, three-game campaign in 2005-06, his 11.9 point-per-game average was a career-low. He’s on the books next season for a cap-busting $23.4 million and will turn 32 during the campaign.
But Stoudemire did improve down the stretch, second on the team in March with 16.9 points per game, and third in April at 14.1 on a red-hot 63 percent shooting. He doesn’t plan to go back for more summer tutelage from Hakeem Olajuwon, but said this is the best he’s felt in two years and is convinced the Knicks have the talent to make the playoffs, if they add a few more seasoned pros.
“With myself being one of the captains, I take it upon myself to lead and I lead by example. That’s why I train as hard as I do and work out consistently,’’ said Stoudemire, who met with Jackson and general manager Steve Mills, but hadn’t seen Woodson. “I think more pros that will follow that lead will be a great addition to the team.’’