While the news of the day is most certainly that Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook will be sidelined until after the All-Star break due to an unexpected arthroscopic knee surgery, life in the NBA must go on.
And on it will go for the New York Knicks, who according to ESPN’s Marc Stein, will remain intact for the time being:
Sources close to the situation told ESPN.com that Dolan gathered the team before the first practice in the wake of New York’s embarrassing 29-point home loss to Oklahoma City on Christmas Day largely in an attempt to hush the growing speculation about coach Mike Woodson’s job security following the Knicks’ 9-19 start.
It’s believed Dolan took the step in an attempt to persuade Woodson’s players to band together and throw their full support behind the embattled coach to help dig New York out of the sizable hole it finds itself with essentially one-third of the regular season in the books, the sources said.
When an emboldened Woodson met reporters after Thursday’s practice, he promptly announced he still thinks New York can rally from its poor start to win the Atlantic Division.
“We won it last year, and I expect us to win it this year,” he said.
Winning the Atlantic Division is all well and good, but should that really be the goal?
Coming off a 29-point annihilation at the hands of the Thunder on Christmas day, the Knicks currently stand at a putrid 9-19. The good news here is that they are only three games back of the Atlantic Division leading Toronto Raptors. And guess who comes to town Friday night?
That’s right, the Toronto Raptors.
In fact, the Knicks will spend this weekend playing a home-and-home against the Raptors. With two wins, they could be sitting pretty at 11-19 and just one game back by Sunday morning.
It is still well believed that the Knicks can salvage the rest of the regular season, enough to win the Atlantic Division which would automatically vault them into the playoffs. Things are really bad in New York right now. It’s obvious that Dolan would like things to improve immediately. But is keeping this roster the same, which has led to habitually terrible play dating back to last season, the best decision long term?
Dolan is doing his best “rally the troops” effort here, but if the Knicks drop both games to Toronto this weekend, it wouldn’t come as a surprise — with the teams next game four days from Saturday — to hear talk of a coaching change.
Speaking of a coaching change, it is becoming increasingly apparent that Jason Kidd is losing support within the Brooklyn Nets’ locker room. Yahoo Sports Adrian Wojnarowski has the story:
The Nets had tried to be supportive of Kidd, but patience is running low on the belief he can deliver the structure and organization desperately needed. As the Nets have devolved into chaos, Kidd has increasingly isolated himself within the locker room and organization, sources told Yahoo Sports. From management to players, Kidd has shown an inability to manage crisis and keep the respect of his players.
Rifts exist between old players and new, trust eroded with every humiliating loss in this 9-19 season.
Like the Knicks, the Nets are torn between making a major change to salvage this season or trusting their offseason decisions and hoping things turn around. The stakes a little higher for the Nets, though, as their window is closing at a rapid pace behind their unconventional foundation of aging superstars.
For all the stories about Kidd’s grandstanding speeches in the locker room, calling out players in private and public, make no mistake: He’s losing these Nets the way Scott lost Kidd a decade ago. Eventually, the players need a plan, need substance. There’s no faster way to lose a locker room than calling Kevin Garnett a quitter.
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