New York Knicks coach Mike Woodson has to make Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire click - NBA Feature
With the playoffs just around the corner, with only a few games remaining in the season, New York Knicks will have another one of their stars back from injury, Amare Stoudemire. Amare, who has been out since March 24 with a back injury was hopeful to return
and has recently practiced with his team-mates.
Stoudemire is expected to come back within the next few days, either against Cleveland on Friday or against Atlanta on Sunday. The first question that comes to a lot of people`s mind is whether his return to action will cause problems for the Knicks or be
fruitful as they qualify for the playoffs.
This is because of the problems Knicks were facing at the start of the season with their two stars, Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony, failing to work together on the court. This time around, things could be a lot different as new interim coach Mike Woodson
has a completely different mindset as compared to their previous coach Mike D`Antoni.
With Stoudemire returning, it will be interesting to see how Woodson adjusts. Many have predicted that the two players (Stoudemire and Anthony) cannot function together. However, Woodson remains adamant that he will make it work. He contemplated on the matter
that it is his job to make it work and he will try everything at his disposal to make things work out between the two.
"That's my job, to make it work," Woodson said Tuesday
If Woodson is able to make the two stars gel together, it would mean that he would be able to secure the head coach position at the Knicks on permanent basis. Even though the Knicks owner, James Dolan still has inclinations to tempt Phil Jackson out of retirement.
Mike has shown much promise as the head coach as he helped turn things around for the Knicks since his arrival. Knicks have 14-5 record under Woodson and are in strong contention to get to play in the post season.
When Coach D`Antoni was fired, the Knicks were struggling to get much of their offense going. Even with the repertoire of being called an ‘offensive guru’; D`Antoni was still unable to make the Knicks click.
If you look at that point and compare it to where the Knicks are at the moment, one can perceive that Woodson has got to be doing something right. He has helped Carmelo turn things around in the short span.
Anthony, since his the start of the season, was playing some uninspiring basketball. But since Woodson`s rise to the head coach position, Anthony has been playing the best basketball in his second season with the Knicks. His recent triple double performance
against the Boston Celtics was described as a thing of beauty.
However this was not due to the fact that Anthony likes to function alone. It was Woodson`s approach in coaching that turned things around as he even got him to play team defence even though Anthony is regarded as one of the worst defenders in the league.
This recent turn around for the Knicks has even been inspiring for rival coaches like Doc Rivers. Rivers went on to contemplate that Woodson has been doing the right things and has gotten the Knicks to play good basketball. He also went on to say that Woodson
will find a way to make things work. River made these comments after his team, the Celtics, lost to the Knicks.
"When they're both on the floor it's a bigger challenge, because they both can score," Rivers explained. "They hurt us a lot of ways. You load up on Carmelo, they swing [the ball], and you don't have time to shift your defence on the other side of the floor.
I think Woody will do a great job as far as figuring out who gets the ball and all of that stuff”
We still have to see as to how Woodson will be looking to adjust the rotation, He, however has ruled out the possibility of Stoudemire starting off the bench. Woodson will have his hands full at the end of the season as he tries to stabilise his position
and remain as head coach for the Knicks, and that would largely depend on how he handles his two stars.
The views and opinions expressed in this article do not represent Bettor.com’s editorial policy.
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