Why Didn't Woody Call A TO? Strategy Worked With Joe Johnson In Atlanta
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Mike Woodson has been getting a lot of flak ever since Monday night, when he opted not to use a timeout ahead of the Knicks' final possession.
After Bradley Beal hit a layup with 6.9 seconds left to put the Wizards up by one, the Knicks' coach didn't stop the clock and Carmelo Anthony threw up a three-point prayer at the buzzer. The shot misfired, and the Wizards beat the Knicks, 102-101, at Madison Square Garden.
So what was Woody thinking exactly?
After admitting on Monday night that he should have taken a timeout, the head coach provided some reasoning on Tuesday as to why he held his tongue at the most crucial part of the game.
And that reasoning might irk New York's superstar forward.
"I'm going to be honest," Woodson said. "I've let games go like that. In Atlanta, I let a couple of games go where I didn't call a timeout because they weren't set. We threw it in and Joe Johnson was able to dribble down and hit a winning shot. Was I thinking that at the time? Well, when Beno (Udrih) stepped out and Melo begged for it and he threw it to him, I didn't stop the play.
"I let it go on. I should've called a timeout, taking it out of their hands and advance the basketball, but I didn't."
The coach, who many believe is on the hot seat with his team off to an incredibly disappointing start, said that he and his players watched film of the final 24 seconds of play.
"Bad coaching, we made a lot of bad mistakes coming down the stretch," Woodson said. "Happens sometimes. I don't mean it in a blow-off way."
The crushing defeat put the Knicks at 7-17 on the not-so-young-anymore season. The 'Bockers are currently in fourth place in the Atlantic Division and in 13th place in the Eastern Conference.
New York will take on the lowly Bucks on Wednesday night. The shorthanded squad will be without Amar'e Stoudemire, Kenyon Martin, Raymond Felton and Pablo Prigioni. Tyson Chandler will return to the floor.
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