Lawrence: Woodson brings winning attitude

Lawrence: Woodson brings winning attitude

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Mike Woodson has gotten Knicks' attention since taking over as coach.

As much as everyone wants to celebrate one Knick playoff victory, the one they finally got in Game 4 at the Garden to extend their season at least three more days, so much more is expected from a New York NBA franchise.

Mike Woodson seems to get that point, more than most people at the Garden.

On the day after the teams first postseason victory in 11 years, a lifetime in professional sports, the teams interim coach spoke about the importance of following up the end of an embarrassing playoff losing streak with another win, in Game 5 on Wednesday in Miami.

After all the bad years at the Garden, which were a product of an ownership that committed a lot of self-inflicted wounds before Amare Stoudemire got around to taking a swing at that glass fire extinguisher door after Game 2, the franchise has a chance to build off a significant win by doing something even bigger.

Its so important, Woodson said. That would be great for our team and our players and our fans. Knick nation.

Making the Heat come back to the Garden on Friday would stamp this a productive season, something to build on. That hasnt happened around here in years.

It wasnt just that the Knicks had lost 13 straight playoff games. It was the bigger scandal that haunted Dolans franchise, with this being only the third time since 2001 that his team had even qualified for the playoffs.

One more win doesnt eliminate all the bad years, but it would signal a new start and go a long way toward giving Woodson the long-term deal he is seeking.

One of the best parts of Sundays outcome aside, obviously, from ending the losing streak is that the guy in charge on the bench isnt satisfied with getting one win, followed by a showering of confetti. Woodson wasnt reaching for champagne because he saw his team outplay the Heat late, while Miami also missed some big foul shots and made some dubious strategical moves down the stretch.

Monday was supposed to be all about the Knicks cleaning out their lockers at their training facility, with speculation building about whether it would be Phil Jackson or John Calipari to come in and coach the team.

But there was Woodson speaking on a conference call, still very much in charge. And apparently the Knicks want to keep him, having initiated contract talks to remove the interim tag from his title.

It must have felt real good for Woodson taking all the questions about whether Jeremy Lin will play Wednesday and what his team needs to do to put pressure on the Heat, the kind of pressure Pat Riley and everyone else in that organization want no part of in the first round of the playoffs.

But while he was probably feeling terrific and a little lucky because Erik Spoelstra decided to put Shane Battier on Carmelo Anthony in the fourth quarter and because Dwyane Wade missed seven foul shots and botched the games final play, Woodson wants more.

The odds are against the Knicks to bring the series back to the Garden, of course. They won a few big road games late in the regular season to lock up seventh place in the East, in Atlanta and Charlotte. But now theyll be down one more starting guard and theyll be trying to win in LeBrons building, something that the Sixers, Celtics and Bulls all failed to do in eight tries last spring.

We feel good about going back to South Beach and a hostile environment, Woodson said. We have to keep their fans out of the game.

The bigger problem remains on the court. The Heat didnt lose a home playoff game in the 2011 postseason until Dallas came to town for the Finals. The good news for the Knicks is that the Heats perfect record for the Eastern part of the playoffs doesnt carry over to this spring. But neither does the Knick win from Sunday. Its still 3-1 Miami and since they put their Big Three together, theyve never let an Eastern Conference team get to a sixth game in a playoff round.

For the Knicks to win a second game in this round, it will take Anthony and Stoudemire to put in the same kind of joint effort we saw Sunday, one that was long overdue. Anthony rose to the occasion, surviving a few late hiccups at the foul line.

He took it to another level, Woodson said. But well need that and more when we go to Miami.

Its good that theyre going back. It would be so much better if they make something of it.