As another losing streak is in full swing, Knicks coach Mike Woodson finds himself on the hot seat yet again and he even dubbed the season “a disaster from a coaching standpoint.”
It’s included players questioning his moves and fans angry with the team’s sub-par play. Below are just some of the examples of him clashing with players.
J.R. Smith benchings
It’s hard to fault Woodson here. The enigmatic Smith was benched twice by Woodson after he was fined $50,000 by the NBA for untying the sneakers of the Mavericks’ Shawn Marion and attempting the same trick against the Pistons’ Greg Monroe the next game. Woodson sat Smith against the Heat Jan. 10, then benched him again against the Bobcats Jan. 14.
“The bottom line is he’s got to be more of a pro and do the right things and just concentrate on basketball. That’s the name of the game, nothing else,” Woodson said about Smith in between instances when he refused to discuss the guard.
Smith was caught off guard by the benchings.
“I stopped being surprised after the Miami game,” Smith said. “I haven’t the slightest clue [what’s going on]. . . . If I’m not helping the team, there’s no point in me being here.”
More or less Amar’e
On Dec. 17, Woodson said Stoudemire would be out “a while” with knee swelling. Hours later, Stoudemire tweeted he was fine. The next day Woodson blamed the media.
“You guys kind of ran with that,” Woodson said.
On Feb. 3, Stoudemire spoke out about his recent lack of playing time after returning from a sprained ankle.
“I feel great. … I am ready to play. But it’s up to him if he wants to play me or not,” Stoudemire said. “From a doctor’s standpoint, there hasn’t been limitations since the first week of the season … So we can’t keep saying limitations — that’s a coach’s decision at the end of the day.”
Chandler saying they got out-schemed
After an embarrassing 23-point loss to the Nets on Martin Luther King Day at the Garden, Chandler pointed the finger at Woodson, saying Brooklyn’s first-year coach Jason Kidd “out-schemed us.”
“They played to our defense as far as their offensive scheme, knowing our rotations, putting us in vulnerable situations,’’ Chandler said.
He also said Woodson’s switching schemes don’t work. Woodson, however, shot back two days later that the Knicks defense was just fine when it won five in a row with Chandler on the bench.
“When we were on that stretch where we won our defense was pretty solid,’’ Woodson said. “We haven’t made a whole lot of changes. We could play some zone, [but] I don’t think anyone complained during that five-game stretch.’’
After another dig by Chandler, Woodson would go on to say the center should keep his complaints in-house.
Anthony saying they didn’t make adjustments
This wasn’t Chandler saying the Knicks got “out-schemed,” but the team’s star did seem to take a shot at Woodson after an ugly loss in Indiana to the Pacers Jan. 16.
“They made adjustments the way they played the pick-and-roll, the way they packed the paint and stayed with our 3-point shooters. They made that adjustment. We didn’t make the adjustment back to it,” Anthony said.
Woodson didn’t respond to the critique.
Suspect relationship with Shumpert
It began during training camp, when Woodson discussed the possibility of starting Smith over Shumpert. He’s hard on the defensive-minded shooting guard, who’s been the focus of trade rumors much of the season, and the two were seen getting into an argument during the Knicks’ home loss to the Rockets Nov. 14.
Neither has publicly criticized the other, but Shumpert’s struggles could be tied to a lack of support from Woodson. The coach surprisingly didn’t back his player in an overtime loss to the Pacers No. 20 when Shumpert fouled Paul George taking a 3-pointer, directly leading to the extra session.
Woodson said Shumpert “kind of lazily played it” and the questionable foul call was accurate.
Kenyon upset with role
The edgy forward was not happy with Woodson for not playing in a game against the Spurs Nov. 10, as part of a platoon system with Stoudemire to give the two injury-prone veteran forwards time to rest.
“That’s been y’all and Woody,’’ Martin said of his minute-restriction guidelines. “I’ve told you all I’m fine. Every time you ask me, I’ll give you the same answer, I’m fine — whatever the minutes is. You keep talking to Mike about the guidelines. I’m going to worry about us getting better as a team.”
Ironically, Martin is hurt again and will be out until after the All-Star break with a chronic ankle and foot injury.
Udrih wants to be traded cause of lack of playing time
After a Christmas Day loss to the Thunder at the Garden, Udrih said he felt like he was being blamed for the Knicks’ struggles by Woodson.
“Don’t just be a coach, be a person,” he said. “You can point fingers at me as much as you can, but if things don’t work it’s not one person’s fault.”
He also said: “Sometimes I have a feeling like when I do a mistake they have a feeling that I’m making the mistake on purpose.”
Woodson said Udrih “opened the floodgates” when he allowed Bradley Beal to drive in for a go-ahead layup in the waning moments of a loss to the Wizards Dec. 16.
Woodson blamed Udrih for Smith’s gaffe in a narrow loss to the Rockets in Houston on Jan. 4, when the wild shooting guard took an ill-advised 3-pointer in a tie game in the final seconds when the Knicks could’ve held for a final shot.
“The bottom line is you look at his shot, but did Beno have to throw him the ball?” Woodson said. “You gotta look at that. … So I mean, he had the ball, he probably should have held the ball.”