Earlier this week, the New York Knicks made the decision to make Mike Brown their new head coach. The deal is expected to be made officially early next week. The former Sacramento Kings coach is taking over for Tom Thibodeau, who was shockingly fired after the Knicks made their first Conference Finals in 25 years. While firing Thibodeau came as a surprise, everyone can acknowledge that he had certain flaws as a coach. Some are concerned that Brown is too similar to Thibodeau and thus could repeat his mistakes.
Let’s dive into some adjustments Brown needs to make as the Knicks' new head coach to avoid falling into the same pitfalls as Thibodeau.
3. Use the bench more
Perhaps the most notable of Thibodeau’s problems was his resistance to using his bench. Through most of the regular season and playoffs, Thibodeau used a seven-man rotation. The Knicks ranked dead last in bench minutes. Furthermore, three of the Knicks' five starters ranked within the top five for minutes per game. This even caused Mikal Bridges to openly ask Thibodeau to play the bench more. However, in the Eastern Conference Finals series against the Indiana Pacers, Thibodeau curiously expanded his rotation to include Delon Wright and Landry Shamet. The Knicks didn’t win the series, but this move showed the capabilities of these bench players.
For Brown, utilizing the bench more shouldn’t be as challenging, given the Knicks’ offseason additions of Guerschon Yabusele and Jordan Clarkson. Nevertheless, Brown has also received similar criticisms regarding minutes distribution. Most notably, he failed to give gifted young wing Keon Ellis a significant role in Sacramento. Overall, Brown will have to learn from both his own and Thibodeau’s mistakes to maximize this Knicks squad.
2. Implement a more egalitarian offense
One of the Knicks' biggest shortcomings against the Pacers and in general was their predictable offense. Running everything through Jalen Brunson made sense in the 2023-24 season. However, with Karl-Anthony Towns and Bridges in the mix, the offense should have adjusted. In the playoffs, Towns’ lack of involvement in the offense was especially a problem in the playoffs, where his touches declined from 59.6 to 49.8 per game.
Brown will need to utilize more two-man actions between Brunson and Towns. Additionally, ensuring OG Anunoby and Bridges get ample opportunities within the offense should be a priority. This will require Brunson to change his play style a bit. However, it also requires more creative offensive schemes from Brown.
Luckily for Knicks fans, Brown proved he was capable of implementing an everybody-eats style of offense with the “light the beam” team in Sacramento. Brown’s experience as an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors should also help him in this area.
1. Utilize more double-big lineups
Despite Towns’ brilliant offensive season, his defensive deficiencies were on full display. As seen from his time in Minnesota, Towns thrives next to a defensive-minded big man. While Mitchell Robinson was hurt for most of the season, playing him for just 17.1 minutes per game when he returned in late February wasn’t nearly enough. Robinson’s impact as a rim protector, rebounder, and lob threat is immense, especially next to Towns. Thibodeau did start Robinson next to Towns for the final four games against the Pacers, which notably helped the Knicks win their lone two games of the series.
In the playoffs, Robinson and Towns posted an impressive 4.4 net rating. However, in the regular season, the big-man duo played just 12 minutes together, posting an absurd 20.5 net rating. Ultimately, starting Robinson alongside Towns needs to be the new norm in the Mike Brown era.