Mike Woodson Defends Carmelo Anthony From Haters ... 'He Was Great For Me'

Carmelo Anthony is getting some heavy duty backup in his nasty feud with Phil Jackson ... an ex-Knicks head coach who says he LOVED coaching 'Melo and says he's been "great" for the franchise.

Phil's been criticizing Anthony since he was hired as the Knicks President -- and made it clear he wants to trade Melo out of NYC as soon as possible.

We got former Knicks coach Mike Woodson -- who was fired by Phil back in '14 -- and asked what he thought of the Melo/Jackson feud ... and Mike took a side.

"I love Carmelo Anthony, that's all I'm gonna say," Woodson told us ... adding, "He was great for me."

Seems clear Woodson -- now an assistant with the Clippers -- is riding with his 'Melo, and why not? The two men were 109-79 together and made the playoffs twice, something the Knicks haven't done since.

And when we say "since" ... we mean since Phil Jackson was hired.