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Another 1st round exit for Landry Fields, Tyson Chandler and the New York Knicks.

This team is just not good enough to win a championship.

That thought went through my head as I was watching the last minutes of Game 5.

Clearly not good enough to beat the Miami Heat.  There are many reasons why the Knicks didn’t win this series.

• Not as talented as the Heat.
• Playing at less than full strength with injuries to Jeremy Lin, Baron Davis, and Iman Shumpert.
• Played stupid.  Smith, JR, I’m looking at you.
• Questionable substitution patterns, never giving the bench players any sense of rhythm.
• Lack of adjustments, in game and between games.

The first three bullets are personnel issues.  However, the last two are all on the coach.  And with the rumors swirling around a potential contract extension for Mike Woodson, one has to wonder why?

It isn't a matter of Mike Woodson deserving to be the Knicks coach after this season. It is a question of whether he is the best person for the job.

If it is a matter of deserving a contract extension, there is little debate.  Woodson led the Knicks to an 18-6 regular season record as a head coach, taking a team from the brink of being eliminated from playoff contention to a seventh seed.  He did this through prolonged absences by Amar’e Stoudemire and Lin, and he gave Carmelo Anthony the platform to carry the Knicks to the playoffs.

But this is a question of whether Woodson is the best person for the job.

Woodson’s flaws as a head coach became quickly apparent in the playoffs.  He lacks imagination with his play calling, only putting on Anthony in isolation situations for major stretches of the game.  His love of JR Smith is puzzling, sticking with him through easy turnovers and poor shooting.  He yanked Landry Fields in and out of the lineup like a yo-yo, when it was clear that Fields was having a better series than Smith.  And he couldn’t get Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler, or Steve Novak loose by calling some plays where they are the primary options.

Key to the Knicks off-season will be re-signing Jeremy Lin and his Black Lapel suit.

Look, the result of this series likely wouldn’t have been much different even if Woodson made those adjustments.  But I can’t help but wonder, with the Knicks as they are currently constructed and with Woodson as the head coach, that this would just be a reprisal of Woodson’s Atlanta Hawks teams?  Teams with good enough talent to win 50+ games in the regular season, but not good enough to get through the second round due to coaching?

Coaches are often overrated.  Coaches are considered good when they merely lead their teams to winning records that correspond to the talent of their teams.  Bad coaches miss that bar, while great coaches exceed that.

As the Knicks are locked in to 3 large contracts between Anthony, Stoudemire, and Chandler, it will be very tough to improve the team through free agency.  The Knicks don’t hold a 1st round pick in the upcoming draft.  So the personnel is pretty much set as is.  They will re-sign Lin, Fields, and Josh Harrelson because it is economical for them to do that.  They hope to sign Novak, but I have a feeling a bad team (e.g. New Jersey Nets with Shawne Williams) will overpay for him.  There is just not much room for improvement in terms of talent.

I just don’t see Woodson getting this team to out-perform their talent.  He is liked and supported by his superstars, Anthony and Stoudemire, but he doesn’t have their respect.  I don’t see Woodson coming up with a system that optimizes both Anthony and Stoudemire’s talents simultaneously.  I don’t see him fully taking advantage of the break-out talent in Jeremy Lin.  And I don’t see him trusting Fields with enough responsibility or playing time.

With names like Phil Jackson, Tom Thibodeau, and Jeff Van Gundy (hell, even Stan Van Gundy) available, why not look at the best person for the job?  Knick fans deserve at least a full coaching search process this summer.  Having Woodson anointed as the Head Coach will mean the Knicks are merely running in place.