The Secret to the Knicks Recent Success Under Mike Woodson

So, in the past two weeks Knicks fans have seen their squad go on a 6 game losing streak only to rebound and start a nice 3 game winning streak. So, what happened? Why the sudden turnaround?

The obvious answer to these questions would be the firing of Mike D'Antoni and the emergence of interim coach Mike Woodson, but not so fast. The firing of D'Antoni had a significant impact on this team, but lets not overlook the players here. For starters, Melo and Amare have been playing with much more intensity and unselfishness during this three game streak. You can argue that this is due to a "new life," so to speak under Mike Woodson, but I'm sorry their professional basketball players. You shouldn't need an excuse to play hard and be a team player, that should be a requirement.

Whatever the reason, the Knicks are finally playing some great, cohesive basketball. Since D'Antoni's resignation the Knicks are 3-0 with an average winning margin of 23.7 points. What's being overlooked is what I think is the most relative and crucial stat regarding Knicks wins and losses, Melo's shots per game. The Knicks are 12-11 when Melo shoots less than 20 times in a game. Granted, that's not a tremendous record at all, but adversely, when Melo shoots 20 or more times in a game the Knicks have a 2-11 record.

As you can see, when Melo picks his spots and incorporates his teammates more within the offense the Knicks are a much better team then when he decides to isolate and try to take over. Also, the Knicks are 3-11 when Melo has 3 or less assists while 9-9 when he has 4 or more assists. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that the Knicks are only going to be as good as Melo can make them. D'Antoni's system was never going to win us a championship, but that had nothing to do with Melo's attitude and mentality while on the court.

With D'Antoni's resignation the pressure is now squarely on Melo. No more excuses. The Knicks are off to a hot start. Hopefully the Knicks can continue to play unselfish, TEAM basketball. If so, then I guarantee you nobody wants to play them in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.

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