Knicks say they needed to be held accountable

Since Mike Woodson replaced Mike D’Antoni, the Knicks have lauded their new coach for holding them accountable and have talked about how much they needed that.

By doing that, they’re more than intimating D’Antoni wasn’t holding them accountable enough.

“He was,” Amar'e Stoudemire said before the Knicks' 106-87 win over Toronto. “It’s just a matter of coach Woodson being very vocal about accountability, understanding how important it is for all of us to buy into what we’re doing in order to win a championship and play great defensively.”

Carmelo Anthony has said that he’s told Woodson to hold him more accountable. Woodson said he’s doing it with everyone, and his style has been well received.

“It’s phenomenal,” Stoudemire said. “I love it. I love the fact that he’s very honest about what his team has to do. He holds players accountable, and he makes sure everybody plays well. He’s a player’s coach. He played in the league several years. He knows what it takes for us as players to come prepared and it feels good to have him as a coach.”

Woodson is challenging his players on defense. Under D’Antoni the Knicks switched on pick-and-rolls. They’re switching less now and Woodson wants the perimeter players to do a better job guarding the ball.

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Woodson isn’t just challenging his team, but the fans, too. “I urge and beg them to stay with us and stay in our corner and push these guys,” Woodson said. “We have some veteran guys, but we have a bunch of young guys too that they really don’t understand the dynamics of this sport and the level it takes to play at to really be good.”