A still-cocky Knicks coach Mike Woodson does not appear fearful of the Raptors, who lead the Titanic Division with an 11-15 record — the worst clip for a division leader at this stage of a season in 38 years.
In his boldest statement in weeks, Woodson said he still “expects” the Knicks to supplant Toronto and second-place Boston and hang a second straight division-title banner in the Garden rafters.
In Andrea Bargnani’s first regular-season games against his old team, the Knicks face the Raptors in a home-and-home, starting Friday at the Garden before heading north Saturday. Carmelo Anthony is listed as questionable for Friday, but likely will play Saturday.
One day after his team’s 123-94 Christmas disgrace against Oklahoma City, Woodson spoke Thursday as if he doesn’t see his job in jeopardy.
“Do I see some light at the end of the tunnel? I do,” Woodson said. “I think eventually we’ll get where we need to get, based on our last 12 games. Eventually we’ll get healthy and we’ll see how it all plays out.”
Starting with the back-to-back routs of the Nets and Magic, the Knicks are 6-6 in their last dozen games.
“The beauty of all this is nobody’s running away with it in [the Atlantic] division,” Woodson said. “I’m pushing our team to win our division still. We won it last year. I expect us to win it this year.’’
Woodson can afford to be bold because the preseason favorites Nets are in bigger trouble than the Knicks with a struggling rookie coach in Jason Kidd and starting center Brook Lopez out for the season. Boston and Toronto, meanwhile, are rebuilding and more motivated to land a spot in the lottery’s superdraft. (The Knicks, who trail Toronto by three games, don’t have a first-round pick, having traded it to Denver.
If the Nets were running away with the division, Woodson would be on the golf course by now. Instead, he’s still hanging on at 9-19, with the Garden brass having waited to see what the Knicks look like with Tyson Chandler and not all enamored with the interim-coaching alternatives.
The Knicks have already lost more home games than last season as they carry a 4-11 mark into Friday. Owner James Dolan has said he feels this club is better equipped for the long haul than last season’s team.
“Bottom line is I’m the coach of this team,’’ Woodson said. “I have high standards in terms of what I do and what I expect players to do. It starts with me. I understand that. I don’t want to run away from that as a coach.’’
After the home-and-home, the Knicks have four days off before the Texas Triangle trip. If Dolan is ever going to do anything, that would be the window. Or he may just wait until the offseason when he can choose from a large array of candidates — from Jeff Van Gundy to Lionel Hollins to currently employed coaches who may become available.
Chandler said he believes speculation about Woodson’s job security “isn’t warranted.”
“This is New York City, there’s going to be a lot happening, the media’s going to come down and find that person to blame,’’ Chandler said. “In this situation, I don’t think it’s the right thing to write. We haven’t had our full unit at any point in the year except one half in Orlando and we looked great.’’
Chandler defended Woodson for the egregious Washington loss when Woodson failed to call that timeout.
“Woody is always there,’’ Chandler said. “That game he told guys we got a timeout and we got to foul. We didn’t execute. There’s been situations where he’s put us in the right position to succeed and we haven’t succeeded. We have to look in the mirror. That’s all starting with myself. We all got to be better. I got to be better.’’
J.R. Smith said the club is not “executing’’ the defensive game plan and realizes the loss to the Thunder made Woodson look lousy.
“Whoever is in that head seat, we have to pay attention to and listen to him and got to know he wants the best for us,’’ Smith said. “When we play like we did [Wednesday], it doesn’t look like that.’’
The Knicks have been so battered this season their returning top five that keyed last season — Raymond Felton, Iman Shumpert, Tyson Chandler, Smith and Anthony — have played together in just one game, Monday in Orlando when they built a 24-point halftime lead. But then Anthony and Felton got injured in the second half.
“That’s the first game we had our core guys,’’ Woodson said. “We’re sitting here three games out and the last 12 we’re 6-6. We are playing better basketball based on all the injuries we’ve had. [Friday is] an important game.’’
The Knicks are playing without their top two point guards, Felton and Pablo Prigioni, and will again start Beno Udrih as they face Toronto’s starting point guard Kyle Lowry, whom the Knicks attempted to trade for two weeks ago.
Chandler has been back four games from a broken leg and the Knicks are 2-2.
“It’s a great opportunity for us,’’ Chandler said. “We have to seize the moment. They come into our house and we got to feel good about playing in the Garden. The Garden is our home. We got to give our fans a show and something to cheer about and be passionate.’’