Plenty of last year’s playoff teams, including the Nuggets, Bulls, and Grizzlies, are off to slow starts in 2013/14, but few have as much cause for concern as the Knicks, who will be without Tyson Chandler for at least the next four weeks. That means we should expect to see a healthy dose of small-ball lineups from Mike Woodson tomorrow night in Charlotte. As we wait to see if the Knicks can avenge Tuesday’s loss to the Bobcats, let’s round up a few of the latest items out of the Big Apple….
- Woodson told reporters, including Marc Berman of the New York Post (Twitter link), that he’d talk to GM Steve Mills today about the possibility of signing a free agent big man. Asked specifically about Jason Collins, Woodson replied, “It’s hard for me to even comment on Jason or any big right now until I talk with (the front office)” (Twitter link via Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com).
- Al Iannazzone of Newsday suggests (via Twitter) that if the Knicks can’t acquire a frontcourt player via a trade, the team should strongly consider signing Ike Diogu or Earl Barron. Both names surfaced yesterday as potential options, since the club is already familiar with them.
- A source tells Frank Isola of the New York Daily News that Woodson was “taken aback” by James Dolan’s expectation of a championship this season and privately questioned why the roster didn’t include more veterans with championship experience. While the Knicks’ roster is still fairly veteran-heavy, this year’s version includes players like Cole Aldrich, Toure Murry, and Chris Smith in place of guys like Jason Kidd, Rasheed Wallace, and Kurt Thomas.