Woodson keeping faith despite start
— -- Coach Mike Woodson says he does not think he has lost the New York Knicks' locker room or any individual players.
The Knicks lost their sixth straight game Monday night, and Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire both say the Knicks aren't having any fun as frustration mounts.
"I don't think I have lost the locker room," Woodson said during his weekly spot on "The Stephen A. Smith and Ryan Ruocco Show" on ESPN New York 98.7. "I don't think I have lost players from an individual standpoint. What I have lost is a Tyson Chandler and a Raymond Felton, that is what I have lost from my starting team.
"And I don't know if you can go on any roster and take two starters out of their roster and they still survive," Woodson added. "They might play in spurts like we are doing today. I am not making excuses, but I would sure love to take my chances with Tyson and Raymond in my lineup."
Woodson said he planned to have a "long sit-down and air it out" with players at practice Tuesday in Los Angeles about comments that came out of the Knicks' locker room before and after the team's 102-91 loss in Portland on Monday.
The Knicks (3-10) have lost seven of nine games since Chandler went down with a fractured right fibula. They have also played the past four games without Felton, who is out with back and hip injuries.
Frustration has grown with each loss. After Monday's setback, Stoudemire said his frustration level was "at an all-time high" and that the Knicks need to pass more.
"It's hard for any player to get a good rhythm when the ball don't move," Stoudemire told reporters in Portland. "I have been playing my entire career when the ball moves, and everybody ends up having a career year. When the ball don't move, guys can't get into a rhythm, they don't touch the ball often enough to get into a rhythm, and it makes it tough for the rest of the teammates to have fun out there.
"Right now we are not having fun. And the ball is not moving. We are playing one pass, one shot at this point. Teams that move the ball win. Teams that don't lose. It is pretty simple."
Anthony said before the defeat to the Blazers that the losing also has taken a toll on him.
"When you're losing, it's not fun," Anthony told reporters at the Knicks' Monday morning shootaround. "Are we having fun on the basketball court? No. The game is not fun right now. When you start pressing, pressing, pressing, it makes everything that much worse. So no, we're not having fun playing basketball."
Woodson said the comments by Stoudemire and Anthony would be addressed at Tuesday's practice. The Knicks play the Los Angeles Clippers (10-5) on Wednesday night.
"I am not going to air out our stuff [on] the air like that," Woodson said. "I am going to address that in the locker room today when we have practice. There are a number of things that you can point the finger at. I always look at the defensive end first because that is where it starts."
"I will address that," he added. "It is a reflection on all of us. Me being the coach and guys that go out there and play, it all goes hand in hand."
Felton, who said there's a 95 percent chance he will play against the Clippers on Wednesday, defended Woodson.
"No, he hasn't [lost the locker room]," Felton said in an interview on "The Michael Kay Show" on ESPN New York 98.7. "We still respect Coach. ... He definitely hasn't lost us at all. We love him as a coach, we love him as a mentor, we love him as a father figure. Everything you can think about. We love Coach Woodson."
Felton said he spoke to Stoudemire and the Knicks talked with one another about the comments that were made Monday. Felton said he is to blame for the lack of ball movement.
"It's my fault. I am going to take the blame for that," Felton said. "Even though I haven't been playing [due to injuries], I am going to take the blame for that. It is my job to make sure the ball is moving and it is my job to make sure guys are getting shots. It is my job to make sure the offense is moving fully.
"Coach Woodson has a great offense and he never tells nobody you can't shoot, you can't dribble the ball and make a play. We just got to, as a team, run the system and go with the ball. And that is my job. I am going to take the blame on that. That's all on Raymond."
Felton said the Knicks are not panicking, even though J.R. Smith said last week that he was.
"I am here to tell you we are not panicking," Felton said. "Not at all. We had a great practice today. Everybody is positive."
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