Knicks 'Woodsanity' Growing Bigger Than the Jeremy Lin Phenomenon?
Mike Woodson, the New York Knicks' newest head coach, has sparked a new phenomenon which may rival that of his star point guard Jeremy Lin, and it is aptly titled -- "Woodsanity."
"Woodsanity" was created by Knicks fans who witnessed Woodson bring the Knicks to a four-game winning streak after losing six in a row. The phenomenon took place after former head coach, Mike D'Antoni, resigned in the middle of the season, leaving assistant coach Woodson responsible for the team.
Although rumors have swirled about future prospects that could take over the Knicks head coaching position next season, many have expressed excitement for the four-game winning streak in a phenomenon now dubbed "Woodsanity." The term has been coined by NBA fans who have watched Woodson improve the team's defense and earn its number eight seed in the playoffs after losing it to the Milwaukee Bucks.
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After Woodson's first four games coaching the Knicks, he managed to make history by becoming the second coach in NBA history to win his first four games with a new team by at least 14 points, coming behind the 1971-1972 Los Angeles Lakers coach Bill Sharman. Although D'Antoni once led the team to a seven-game winning streak after being fueled by "Linsanity," the team was only able to beat the Toronto Raptors by three points despite the fact that they are a lower ranked team in the Eastern Conference.
With Woodson at the helm just one week after D'Antoni resigned, the Knicks were able to beat the Toronto Raptors 106-87. Many Knicks fans took to Twitter to bask in the "Woodsanity" phenomenon that has the team winning games.
"Mike Woodson is NBA royalty," one fan wrote. "'Woodsanity?'"
Another compared the the Knicks newest head coach to the former one.
"Mike D'Antoni gets fired, Mike Woodson replaces him, Knicks start winning, world has 'Woodsanity,'" the fan tweeted.
However, after the "Linsanity" phenomenon in February that began with a seven-game winning streak also followed with a six-game losing streak, some fans were wary of celebrating "Woodsanity" just yet.
"Maybe it's the damage done by 'Linsanity,' but I'm not going to fully buy the Knicks 'Woodsanity' win streak until it's been around a bit," the fan tweeted.
Amare Stoudemire, Knicks starting power forward and one of the team's leading scorers, told the press that he and Lin spoke about the "Woodsanity" phenomenon last week.
"I told Lin this is getting out of control," Stoudemire said.
Although the forward wouldn't feed into any gimmicks, he did admit that the team was having a lot more fun as of late.
"Everybody feels great. Having fun, enjoying the game of basketball, and that's what it's about," Stoudemire said. "When you enjoy doing your job, then it makes it much easier to play and that's what's happening right now."
Raptors coach Dwayne Casey even noticed a change in the team, whose entire coaching staff changed less than one week ago.
"They're a tenacious, different team," Casey said. "It's amazing, their tenacity, the way they attack. If you don't meet it, they take you out."
However, Woodson is being humble about having anything to do with the differences in the Knicks.
"Make no mistake about it, it was our defense that got us the spurt that we needed, and you know that's what good teams are supposed to do," Woodson said. "We've just got to bottle it up, man, and just continue to do it."
