Anji wrote:“I like to see [that] and he’s made major strides this year,’’ Woodson said. “We started this journey, he made guys around him better and he was better for it. That has to be a continuation. I got to push him to be in better shape when you start the season. A lot of things that got to be changed. Not a lot of things, but … There’s got to be some changes to get to the next level.’’

(Damn vultures SMH)

Yes coach I do agree, we have to be better next year. WE have to take were we ended this year and build on it to get to the next level.

“A lot of things have to happen this summer,’’ Woodson said. “My situation, I don’t know what’s going to happen. If I am back, this summer is going to be very pivotal in terms of developing these guys, especially Amar’e, Tyson and Anthony. They’ve got to be better.As an organization, it’s my job to better this team and develop the players to a point this won’t happen next season. ’’

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/knicks/challenging_melo_ypzDpCxkkrQQy6zR2skkkN#ixzz1u1smVz3l

It would seem that Woody is only talking about the way Melo decided to play harder after MDA resigned, cuz he can't be talking about the entire season!!! Woody is being way too kind to Melo saying he made guys around him better!!! When was this? If he did all this growing why hasn't it show itself in the playoffs?

nixluva wrote:

Anji wrote:“I like to see [that] and he’s made major strides this year,’’ Woodson said. “We started this journey, he made guys around him better and he was better for it. That has to be a continuation. I got to push him to be in better shape when you start the season. A lot of things that got to be changed. Not a lot of things, but … There’s got to be some changes to get to the next level.’’

(Damn vultures SMH)

Yes coach I do agree, we have to be better next year. WE have to take were we ended this year and build on it to get to the next level.

“A lot of things have to happen this summer,’’ Woodson said. “My situation, I don’t know what’s going to happen. If I am back, this summer is going to be very pivotal in terms of developing these guys, especially Amar’e, Tyson and Anthony. They’ve got to be better.As an organization, it’s my job to better this team and develop the players to a point this won’t happen next season. ’’

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/knicks/challenging_melo_ypzDpCxkkrQQy6zR2skkkN#ixzz1u1smVz3l

It would seem that Woody is only talking about the way Melo decided to play harder after MDA resigned, cuz he can't be talking about the entire season!!! Woody is being way too kind to Melo saying he made guys around him better!!! When was this? If he did all this growing why hasn't it show itself in the playoffs?

So it only matters when Woody says something that you agree with. O.K. Woody says "he needs to get in to better shape." Woody is speaking the truth. Woody says "he made players around him better. How dare he speak such niceties."

y2zipper wrote:This is exactly why Mike Woodson should be hired: he's a maximum effort coach, and like it or not, that's the type of guy the Knicks need because of who the star players are. The right guy for this job is the guy who pushes the right buttons and gets these guys to play at a high level. The series against Miami isn't going well, but it's hard to pin that on Woodson or anybody else in particular with all the injuries.

You wanna chase Phil Jackson? I get it. 11 rings, credibility, blah blah blah. But if he doesn't come in, you hire Woodson.

Agreed!!!

OasisBU wrote:

Jmpasq wrote:Melo is very soft looking. Amare was even worse off

Maybe they both need some serious off season conditioning/training.

At least Amare is usually in shape, he just needs to figure out how to protect his body and gain some of his athletic ability back.

Melo on the other hand needs to lose weight and gain muscle. Lebron (who I know is not the best comparison, but they are playing against each other right now) is in much better shape, I dont expect Melo to match that but he can put more effort in for his paycheck.

Uptown wrote:

nixluva wrote:

Uptown wrote:Why wouldn't a coach demand that his players be in shape at the start of the season? This quote from Woodson also stood out to me, [i]"There’s a lot of things that’s got to be changed, not a lot of things, but there’s got to be some changes for this team to really get to the next level.”[/i]

I think this is an indictment of the previous coach. We all know MDA was laid-back, non-confrontational players coach. Since MDA has been here, we also get off to slow starts, partly because guys were probabaly out of shape (remember how fat Felton was at the start of the season) and MDA never demanded it. This is also the reason why this team is much better defensively under Woodson than they were under MDA, because Woodson is demanding it and is holding players accountable. I love Woodson's approach and hope he signs an extention. He's not afraid to call out hiss players, stars included....

You think that a coach famous for having the fastest teams in the league that usually ran teams out of the building isn't demanding players be in shape??? What can he actually do to a player to force him to be in great shape anyway? Everyone knows you had to be in great shape to run SSOL. Shame on any player that isn't self motivated to be in the best shape possible. As for Felton he was even worse after leaving the Knicks. Melo was pretty much the only one not taking it seriously so you can't blame a coach for his lack of dedication to being the best!!!

Why is it okey for Woody to take the onus on himself as the coach to make sure his players are in shape and not MDA? BTW, Melo wasn't the only one not on shape to start the season. Stat wasn't in shape and niether was Felton as the start of last year. So yes, its the coaches job to make sure his players are ready to play.

Nix, I swear, reading your posts makes me wonder what the hell was MDA's job reponsibility?

How exactly could MDA have made sure that Felton was in better shape than he had ever been in his career? He spoke to him as he does every player about the need for serious conditioning in order to be able to run. EVERY SINGLE NBA PLAYER knows that you have to be in shape to play SSOL for MDA. WHO doesn't know that??? Every player is responsible for his own dedication to his craft to be in shape. Coaches don't dictate what these players do in the off season. Sure they have the training staff give them some things to work on, but each player has to go about finding their own trainers and push themselves to be better every year, like Lebron, Kobe, KG, Jordan etc. Coaches in general aren't trainers so they have others monitor that aspect of the players development. Still it's the players self determination that matters the most.

CrushAlot wrote:

nixluva wrote:

Uptown wrote:

nixluva wrote:

Uptown wrote:Why wouldn't a coach demand that his players be in shape at the start of the season? This quote from Woodson also stood out to me, [i]"There’s a lot of things that’s got to be changed, not a lot of things, but there’s got to be some changes for this team to really get to the next level.”[/i]

I think this is an indictment of the previous coach. We all know MDA was laid-back, non-confrontational players coach. Since MDA has been here, we also get off to slow starts, partly because guys were probabaly out of shape (remember how fat Felton was at the start of the season) and MDA never demanded it. This is also the reason why this team is much better defensively under Woodson than they were under MDA, because Woodson is demanding it and is holding players accountable. I love Woodson's approach and hope he signs an extention. He's not afraid to call out hiss players, stars included....

You think that a coach famous for having the fastest teams in the league that usually ran teams out of the building isn't demanding players be in shape??? What can he actually do to a player to force him to be in great shape anyway? Everyone knows you had to be in great shape to run SSOL. Shame on any player that isn't self motivated to be in the best shape possible. As for Felton he was even worse after leaving the Knicks. Melo was pretty much the only one not taking it seriously so you can't blame a coach for his lack of dedication to being the best!!!

Why is it okey for Woody to take the onus on himself as the coach to make sure his players are in shape and not MDA? BTW, Melo wasn't the only one not on shape to start the season. Stat wasn't in shape and niether was Felton as the start of last year. So yes, its the coaches job to make sure his players are ready to play.

Nix, I swear, reading your posts makes me wonder what the hell was MDA's job reponsibility?

How exactly could MDA have made sure that Felton was in better shape than he had ever been in his career? He spoke to him as he does every player about the need for serious conditioning in order to be able to run. EVERY SINGLE NBA PLAYER knows that you have to be in shape to play SSOL for MDA. WHO doesn't know that??? Every player is responsible for his own dedication to his craft to be in shape. Coaches don't dictate what these players do in the off season. Sure they have the training staff give them some things to work on, but each player has to go about finding their own trainers and push themselves to be better every year, like Lebron, Kobe, KG, Jordan etc. Coaches in general aren't trainers so they have others monitor that aspect of the players development. Still it's the players self determination that matters the most.

I think D'Antoni had a different style and relationship with his players than Woodson. You can say that guys have contracts and should be professional in their approach and it isn't on the coach. However, I think Woodson tells the players his expectations and they respect him and comply. It seems simplistic but some guys need a guy to be in charge and be the authority. Woodson's approach is definitely different from D'Ants. There was a great interview with Tyson where he said he thought he was in trouble because Woodson said he needed to talk to him. It turned out it was just to tell him that he won the dpoy but the fact that Tyson was worried speaks to the accountability that Woodson spoke of.

Well we will soon find out how much respect Melo really has for Woodson, calling out a guy on his conditioning is not something I would expect most players to just let that go by without some sort of reaction (good or bad). It will tell us a lot about what type of guy Melo is and what we can expect for the rest of his time here. Hopefully he steps it up.

He had a good program going with Stephen Hess:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrOqIQVuCZ4

Then he stopped going to Stephen Hess on this vid and, for a month, Melo "didnt touch the basketball" and spent his vacation "relaxed and got darker...."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CE5Mm3t16M

Then on this vid, he doesnt believe in spending in the gym for 3-5 hours. He only worked 45-60 min on shooting and reflecting back on all his shots...lame excuse for laziness IMO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MolEov4tpHc

LeBron and Durant are the true superstars in this league and they didnt become that way by "relaxing and tanning" during off-season. They went thru vigorously training, just to be the best when the game is on. Melo, LBJ and KD all are top of the talent scale, but work ethic is what separates a superstar from just another good scorer.

KD and LBJ in "striving for greatness"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GNE9JLNJPg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ES1_bG_pz8&feature=related

Vmart wrote:Melo has a lot of work to do this off season. If he wants to the best player or one of the top players he definitely needs to better his handle it's pretty weak. All the great ones have a serious handle. Jordan, Kobe, Lebron they have a pg type handle. I noticed that Melo can't run the ball up at full speed. His tough shots are a result of his handle and inability to create space between himself and defender. The lack of a handle also leaves a lot of assists out there. I hope someone points this out to him.

It's good the Woodson pointed out his stamina I think we have been saying this for a while that Melo looks out is shape he needs to get on serious training program. Other than that I think he a great player but if he settles to this he will only be a great player never a legend.

nykshaknbake wrote:100% agree with Woodson. He's being paid the big bucks now it's time to prepare like an elite level player. Conditioning and weight control are the basics and it's shameful that he would come in to the season lacking in those a little let alone how far off from ideal he was this season. All those injuries he had are all on him and his lack of preparation. The Lebrons, KD, Howards and even Stat come in in peak physical condition every year.

CrushAlot wrote:

nykshaknbake wrote:100% agree with Woodson. He's being paid the big bucks now it's time to prepare like an elite level player. Conditioning and weight control are the basics and it's shameful that he would come in to the season lacking in those a little let alone how far off from ideal he was this season. All those injuries he had are all on him and his lack of preparation. The Lebrons, KD, Howards and even Stat come in in peak physical condition every year.

Things changed so much in NY when Amare arrived. He really set the tone with his work ethic and leadership. Melo needs to kick it up a notch.

Stop picking on Amare - he is off limits!!

He is a hero for making it back for game 4.