Mike Woodson‘s name came up in Coach of the Year talk around this time a year ago, but that’s certainly not the case now, with the Knicks tied for the league’s worst record entering tonight. Ian O’Connor of ESPNNewYork.com believes that it’s time for Woodson to show whatever mettle he has if he’s to save his job, but I’m not so sure more effort from the coach will solve the team’s myriad problems. The man who won last year’s Coach of the Year award doesn’t envy Woodson, as we note in our roundup from Madison Square Garden:
- George Karl wants another NBA head coaching gig, but he wouldn’t want the Knicks job if it came open, as he recently told Dave Krieger of Denver’s KOA Radio (hat tip to Brian Lewis of the New York Post). “I mean, I watch the Knicks play and I wouldn’t want to be in that hell for a million dollars,” Karl said. “It’s just New York City and the Garden and the immensity of the pressure. I think Mike Woodson is standing up to it with tremendous integrity.
- Jeremy Tyler, who was with the Knicks in training camp, has recovered from the injury that prompted New York to cut him, but there’s no pressing need for the Knicks to re-sign him, argues Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside.
- Statistics suggest J.R. Smith has been one of the league’s worst players so far this season on his new three-year, $17.9MM deal, so it’s no surprise the Knicks have struggled accordingly, writes HoopsWorld’s Tommy Beer.