Fans call for coach Woodson to be fired.
New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony has blasted the effort of his team during yet another home loss on Saturday night.
The Knicks fell to a 110-90 defeat to the Atlanta Hawks, their fifth straight loss at Madison Square Garden, and the atmosphere surrounding the team is becoming increasingly tense.
While Anthony backed under-fire coach Mike Woodson, he insisted that it was down to effort on the part of the players who need to stand up and be counted at this difficult time.
“We ain’t playing worth a s— right now,” Anthony said, according to ESPN. “We got to play harder.
“I am disappointed too in all of our effort. We are just not getting it done. It ain’t nothing that Coach [Mike] Woodson is doing [or not doing]. It ain’t got nothing to do with X’s and O’s out there on the basketball court. We are not getting it done from an effort standpoint. It’s like we are not even trying right now.”
Woodson also pointed to the fact that the team were “playing soft”, and with the absence of Tyson Chandler, the Eastern Conference giants are struggling on the defensive end.
The Knicks have now suffered disappointing losses to the San Antonio Spurs, Minnesota Timberwolves and Hawks in recent weeks following their opening night win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
While Anthony has been looking improved in terms of his shooting numbers, J.R. Smith struggled with a 3-for-18 night from the floor and conceded that his “terrible” play was a contributing factor to the loss.
Nevertheless, having slipped to 3-6 for the season, Woodson and the players will need to turn things around sooner rather later to get their season back on track and secure a high seeding for the play-offs.
COMMENTS