Mike Woodson still expects Knicks to win division: Report

Only a day removed from the 29-point Christmas Day rout by the Oklahoma City Thunder, Mike Woodson, treated the New York Knicks’ current struggles like a long forgotten memory and predicted a second straight Atlantic Division title following practice on Thursday.

“We won it last year,” the beleaguered head coach said, “and I expect us to win it this year.”

Woodson’s confidence was based on the fact that the 9-and-19 Knicks play in a division that is so weak that they are 6-6 in their past 12 games. Forgetting that most of those wins have come against some of the worst teams in the NBA helped Woodson keep his sunny outlook. 

Woodson asked himself rhetorically, “Do I see some light at the end of the tunnel?” and answered, “I do.”

The mediocrity of the division and a freakish amount of injuries to key players have probably helped excuse Woodson from losing his job—for now.

"The bottom line is I'm the coach of this team," he said. "I have very high standards in terms of what I do and what I expect players to do. And it starts with me."

The Knicks have a chance to gain some ground Friday night when they begin a home-and-home with the division-leading Toronto Raptors at Madison Square Garden.

Woodson knows that the 11-15 Raptors are just three games ahead of the Knicks and his team can make a big statement this weekend.

But it's still unclear if Carmelo Anthony, who didn't practice because of a sprained left ankle that kept him out of the Christmas Day game, will play. Woodson called him "day-to-day."

"Eventually we’ll get healthy and we’ll see how it all plays out," Woodson said. "The beauty about all of this that we’re going through is nobody’s running away with it in our division and I’m pushing our team to win our division still."