The Knicks have gotten killed in their home games this season that have begun with an early 12 noon tip-off, and head coach Mike Woodson is willing to try anything to avoid yet another embarrassing performance and disastrous result.
New York hosts the Memphis Grizzlies at 12 noon at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, but thanks to those recent disappointing efforts in early home games, the team is taking a very different and unusual approach.
From Nate Taylor of the New York Times:Knicks Coach Mike Woodson, desperate for his team start a winning streak, decided to have has players stay in a hotel Friday night, before Saturday’s noon game at Maidson Square Garden against the Memphis Grizzlies. Woodson said he hoped it would help the team be rested and prepared for tipoff and fare better than its previous weekend afternoon debacles. ...
“I’m not going to let them hang out,” Woodson said of his team, adding, “I don’t know why we’ve gotten off to such bad starts and hadn’t played well. But we’re going to do something a little different this time and see if it helps.” ...
“Sometimes it works, sometimes it don’t,” Anthony said. “We’ll see about that tomorrow. I don’t think it will have anything to do with whether we stay in a hotel or not, but that’s what Coach wants us to do and we’re going to do it.”
Anthony also said he’s heard the team will have a 10 p.m. curfew in order to make sure they’re rested enough for the early start.
This may seem silly on the surface; after all, the Spurs and the Celtics had no trouble performing at the early hour and recording easy, blowout victories over New York in the process.
But after late-game blunders in each of the team’s last two contests, credit Woodson for being proactive here and trying something different in order to get his team on track.