Knicks coach Mike Woodson is a new man, with a new contract for next season, a new training-camp agenda and a new line of rhetoric that appears toned down from last season.
Woodson said Friday it will be a “major challenge’’ for the Knicks to defend their Atlantic Division crown, noting the entire Eastern Conference has gotten much better.
Woodson might have a reason to be less bold than in 2012-13. As the season wore on, he talked a lot about it being championship or bust. Setting the bar so high backfired when the Knicks lost in the second round of the playoffs to Indiana.
Though Woodson had his contract option exercised on Monday, he probably realizes new president/general manager Steve Mills isn’t beholden to him. A step back or failure to progress — a first-round or second-round knockout — could lead to his dismissal.
On Thursday, Woodson made a muted remark when he said: “Last season was a learning curve, getting into the second round. We’re trying to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. That’s what it’s all about and maybe getting to The Finals.’’
Woodson on Friday talked of the East getting significantly better.
“Without a doubt,’’ Woodson said. “Washington is going to be better. Detroit will be better. It’s solid across the board. We got to be ready to play every night. We can’t take nights off.’’
The consensus is the Pacers, the Bulls with a healthy Derrick Rose and, of course, the Nets improved more than the Knicks. The Cavaliers also looked a lot better. Then there’s the two-time defending champion Heat. Many prognosticators see the Knicks as fifth-best in the East on paper.
“The Eastern Conference has gotten stronger [than the West],’’ Tyson Chandler said. “It’s shifted when the West was dominant in years past. I think the top five teams are dangerous.’’
Woodson called last season’s second-round knockout a “pretty successful season,’’ citing the fact the club earned the No. 2 seed. Obviously, Knicks owner James Dolan didn’t consider it that successful or he wouldn’t have fired general manager Glen Grunwald.
“I think you guys had us picked five or six last year and we made the big jump,’’ Woodson said. “I’m not trying to sell our team short. We got to try to defend our division. We got some tough opponents in our division this year. It’s a major challenge for our ballclub. I know if we do that, we’’ll host the first round at home.’’
Woodson has said he also has changed his mindset some from last camp, adopting a more lenient approach with the team’s veterans. Woodson is trying to preserve the older players this October to avoid having them break down again. Rasheed Wallace, Marcus Camby, Kurt Thomas and Amar’e Stoudemire were seriously hurt much of the season and Jason Kidd disappeared down the stretch.
Only Stoudemire is back and the medical staff is possibly withholding him from preseason. Kenyon Martin, Chandler and Metta World Peace won’t do a lot of preseason scrimmaging.
“All the vets went through everything last year,’’ Woodson said. “It was a brutal camp last year. Most guys didn’t experience anything like it, all the running. It didn’t hurt us. We got off to a great start. This year I’m going to be a little more open-minded to guys like Tyson, Metta. Those guys have logged a lot minutes in their career. I got to scale it back a little bit.’’
Woodson stepped up the hype slightly Friday when he said the title is still on his mind. But his remarks weren’t as forceful as last season’s frequent proclamations he was in it for one thing — a championship.
“This year the core guys are back,’’ Woodson said. “You got to think we’re a year better. We added some pieces. Hopefully we can take the next step. Everyone’s talking about championships. I’m trying to win the title. I’m going to try to push them in that direction.’’