Knicks fell well short of expectations prior to the season starting.
New York Knicks coach Mike Woodson has maintained that he is the “only guy” for the job moving forward despite failing to make the playoffs this year.
Having made a disappointing 3-13 start to the season which was followed by losing streaks of nine and seven games through the course of the year, the Knicks ultimately were unable to recover in time.
Their form through March and April put them back in the playoff race, but they were eliminated by the Atlanta Hawks last week which resulted in them missing out on the post-season for the first time in four years.
It is a stark contrast to last season in which Woodson guided the franchise to a 54-win campaign and a divisional title, with owner James Dolan insisting prior to the season that he felt as though the squad could compete for a championship.
While they failed in that respect, Woodson believes that if he is given the opportunity to continue, then he will not allow a repeat of this year’s failure.
“Am I the guy for the job? I’m the only guy for this job. I’ve always said that. And I don’t mean that in a braggadocious way. I feel good about what I do as a coach,” Woodson said before the Knicks’ final regular season game against Toronto, as reported by ESPN.
“I know the system works. Unfortunately, this season we’ve had some bad luck, some bad breaks along the way.”
Speculation suggests that team president Phil Jackson will bring in a coach he is familiar with this summer, with former Chicago Bulls star Steve Kerr amongst the list of candidates.
However, there have been no discussions as of yet with Woodson, who still believes that he can flourish by implementing Jackson’s philosophies, but it remains to be seen whether or not he still has the backing of the hierarchy.
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