.) One taking over the team this late in the season, and during the cramped schedule: "Well, it's been tough. This is the first time I've been in this position as a coach, taking over for someone who brought you in. And the fact that we've had a funny season with all the games coming at us so fast, it's just hard to prepare and to be able to practice. There's just not enough time in the day to do that." 2.) On the main difference during the team's three-game winning streak: "The energy level is much higher. We fell out of the playoff hunt in that six-game stretch and guys are hungry. I mean, we've got to make the playoffs and I think once we do, anything is possible. But I think guys are really pushing each other. I'm holding people more accountable and trying to get these guys to play at a high level and we've done that these last three games."
3.) On if the team quit Mike D'Antoni: "Well, I'm not going to say that. I think Mike was pushing and coaching and trying to get the most out of these guys and we just weren't getting it done. For whatever reason, Mike just felt compelled to walk away. And he has that right to do that. It was a shock to all of us."
4.) On if his system is better suited than D'Antoni's for the team: "I'm not knocking Mike's system. The short time I've been around Mike, I liked a lot of things that he's done. And we're still doing some of the things that he did on the floor. I'm adding things gradually, but I would be foolish to completely abandon Mike's system, because I just don't have enough time to really implement all the things that I want to implement. We're mixing it up from an offensive standpoint. But I'm more impressed with the defensive side of the ball."
5.) On using Jeremy Lin less in the offense, as some predict because of his preference for running the offense through the best playmaker (in this case, Anthony): "Absolutely not. A lot of you press people and just fans and people in general that watch our team ... He's a young point guard who's still learning how to play at a high level and learn how to play NBA basketball. I mean, the point guard is the toughest position on any team, I don't care what level it is. It's just like a quarterback, a pitcher. They're tough positions and it's no different with him. I think Mike's system was great for him, but my system will be great for him. We'll still run pick-and-rolls, which we've done in this stretch."
6.) On why he believes in holding players accountable: "I was able and was fortunate enough, thanks to the ownership in Atlanta with the Hawks, to give me a young team to build. I had the opportunity to work with that team for six years. I think when you take young 18, 19, 20-year-old young men and try to teach them NBA basketball, it's not easy and there's a learning curve. If you're not disciplined and pushing and trying to seek guys to play at a high level, you're not going to be successful managing that team. And I was successful I like to think building that Atlanta Hawks team. I've got to make sure that the guys do play hard and they're well-prepared when they step on the basketball floor."
7.) On being called an isolation-heavy coach: "No, not at all. I don't agree with it because we had six guys that averaged in double figures on that team that went 53-29. I don't think we get enough credit for that. We were No. 1 in not turning it over. We were like third in the league in offensive efficiency that year. We were like fifth or sixth in fastbreak points, so I don't know where this isolation basketball came from. If I think if we're an isolation basketball team, then you got one guy averaging 30 something points and everybody else is trying to figure it out. I think people blew the isolation basketball thing out of proportion. We just had a good offensive team and we shared the ball.
"At the end of the day, I'm going to go to Carmelo [Anthony] and I'm going to go to Amare [Stoudemire]. I'm going to go to our best players that I think can get the job done or the player that might be hot that night. The players on this team know that Carmelo and Amare, who've done it at a high level, respect what they do and will make plays down the stretch."
8.) On the team's depth and rotations: "It's the first time that I've had this much talent and it's the first time that I've been in the position where I can play nine, 10 guys. I wasn't this deep in Atlanta, so I played eight guys. I can play 10 guys if I need to. That's the luxury of having a team that has players that can play at a high level and don't hurt you when they come in the game. Our bench has been great during this stretch and I can't emphasize it enough: they're just as important as the guys who start the game."
9.) On if the Knicks can win a championship this season: "Absolutely. That's the only reason why I came to New York. I do think we can win a title and it starts tomorrow night. It starts each time we step out on the practice floor. We're playing for something right now. We just got back in the playoff hunt and we've got to continue to grow and push each other to see if we can move up. It's not impossible, maybe win our division. We've got to get in the playoffs first, and once you get in there, it's an entirely different season and anything is possible."
10.) On if Larry Brown, who Woodson worked with in Detroit when the Pistons won the championship in 2004, is his biggest influence: "He's one of them, absolutely. Bob Knight's been a big influence, my high school coach. All the coaches who I've worked for and played for have been major influences in my life. [Former Knicks coach] Red Holzman, who got me at an early age when I came out college to the pros. I just want guys to play hard and do the right thing when they're out on the basketball floor, and if they don't give effort, then it's my job to let them know they're not giving effort, because it's not fair to the fans and it's not fair to the ownership group, it's unfair to your teammates and it's unfair to me as a coach. If I'm slacking, I expect them to go at me and say,