Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson will have to get used to Mike Brown‘s offensive system, which will be more uptempo than the pace that former coach Tom Thibodeau preferred. There have been mixed results in the first two preseason games, Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News writes.
“I’m comfortable,” Brunson said. “We’re still adjusting, and that’s the process of this entire season. You’re not just gonna be who you are at the end of training camp. You’re gonna continue to get better throughout the season. So I think the longer that we go through this and understand what’s needed and asked of us, the better we’re gonna be.”
Brown is already seeing progress.
“Jalen, he’s starting to adjust. You can see it,” Brown said. “I think this is gonna be good for him. You can see how much space he has when he brings the ball, and again, if you want to pressure a guy like Jalen with that much space, there’s a pretty good chance that he can make you pay for it.”
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- Regarding the report that the Knicks had discussions with the Bucks regarding Giannis Antetokounmpo, The Athletic’s James Edwards III and Fred Katz examine whether it would make sense for the Knicks to acquire the superstar and whether it might happen down the road. Both note that the Knicks simply don’t possess the draft capital and young talent that the Bucks could obtain from other contenders like the Rockets and Spurs.
- Edwards rolls out his preseason edition of predictions regarding the team’s depth chart and rotation. He continues to believe Brown will start Mitchell Robinson at center in a bigger lineup with Josh Hart coming off the bench. Edwards predicts that Miles McBride and offseason additions Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele will also play regularly off the bench, with the 10th man in the rotation being a fluid situation.
- Speaking of Clarkson, he’s energized to play for a contender once again after being stuck on a rebuilding Jazz team, he told Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. “That’s something you chase. That’s a different high, man, if you want to put it like that,” he said. “The level of detail, every play matters. I really want to get back there and I want for sure to take every step day to day, but Coming here, one of the reasons why is I wanted to compete in the playoffs and be on a winning team that’s playing for something.”
- Hart did not practice once again on Tuesday. He’s been battling back spasms in recent days and his status is considered day-to-day, Edwards tweets.
Where there’s smoke there’s fire
Bad season from Mil its curtains for Giannis. This whole beyond loyal narrative doesn’t sing to me nor do the corresponding actions that have transpired (and lack of actions)
The actual places he wants to go kinda need him to stay the whole year so his trade value gets chopped by 60% next July entering ( a known) Im walking year
At that point Mil NEEDS to play its card. The only question is how much they attempt to placate G’s wishes on what TOTALLY seems like NYK
They (NYK) still dont have the assets next summer even with the 60% off sticker Imo, not even close tbh, discussing the swap today in real time is ridic w NYK
Outside suitors have to be circling the waters like piranhas right now
Credit to the Bucks management for bending over backwards for this ungrateful clown. They’ve restructured, reshuffled, and done everything short of selling the arena just to keep him content. Milwaukee deserves better than this petty drama.
Sone credit most definitely but possibly to the point of wreckless this past offfseason w the stretch on Dame –
A +++ for effort no doubt but functionally … idk … I’m not a Buck fan so easier for me to tilt towards trading him with a mistral playing field
I don’t think G has done anything wrong in his tenure , in fact I’d say he’s been awesome thru and thru
He’s just competitive, and the sand has run out of the hourglass , ( imo )
I think it will be an amicable split when it happens
I’m more interested in IF he can shoehorn himself somewhere ( Nyk ) for a lesser price than what Mil can get elsewhere –
No right or wrong answer, no villain , but a big story that’s going to only grow over the next 10 months
* neutral playing field
Calling him ungrateful is unfair. He’s stuck with them for 12 years already mainly because he IS grateful.
Do you think he wanted them to trade for non-shooters Kuzma and Anthony? It’s certainly not his fault that trading Jrue and picks for Lillard didn’t work out.
As a Celtic fan I think that trade worked out great!
No question it worked out perfect for the Celtics.
For Milwaukee it is over. The problem with this is they can’t get a randomsome for him. This is what happens when you try to run the LeBron game. Milwaukee instead of try to do a quick fix should have waited 1 or 2 years and then they could have added more and new talent. By trading for Dame (whether he was healthy or not) it ended championship aspirations. Then they double down again stretching Dame contract. No team that giannis can go to that. He can win with has picos to give. And gone are the days that you get traded to a team and they gut their whole team for the Superstar player because with a cap situation now you cannot win like that. So they are going to have to take less on the dollar or he will walk in two years.
Brown offense is one dimensional. They will look good in the regular season but in the playoffs you need to be able to play at multiple levels. Thibs could, brown can’t. 2nd rd exit
“I’m comfortable,” Brunson said. “We’re still adjusting, and that’s the process of this entire season. You’re not just gonna be who you are at the end of training camp. You’re gonna continue to get better throughout the season. So I think the longer that we go through this and understand what’s needed and asked of us, the better we’re gonna be.”
This new offense should help Bridges the most. Thats what Knicks need most. Hear a lot of talk about pushing the ball and tempo. Yet I don’t see how you would start Mitch in that. And have two slow footed seven footers who you will tire out. Knicks are better this year cause they have a bench now. I’m looking at Bridges having a big year. And the team D being better. After 20-30 gms we will get a good read on where this team is. All about East Finals this year.
going to be interesting. brown has a much better bench than Thibs ever did in NY. But offensively his plan is to institute an offense that doesn’t complement their best offensive player, their heart and soul, a guy who outside of elite offense doesn’t bring much to the table.
Enlarged heart and soul. Brunson is too fat and has too short of legs to keep up that offensive pace. Pacers ran circles around him while he dribbled in place on offense to catch his breath (Great mid range though)
More trips up and down the court just makes him less efficient
I agree…a fast tempo doesn’t suit Brunson at all. Won’t help him on either end.
Do you understand faster tempo and pace. Doesn’t mean Bunson has to play faster. The fastest way to move the ball is by PASSING. Faster tempo means pushing the offense. It’s not about Iso ball with Brunson running faster lol. It’s more ball movement and pace to get better looks. About getting everyone involved in offense. Knicks will always have Brunson at end of clock.
Knicks played the clock last yr. Cause they didn’t have a bench. So Thibs used the clock to manage games. Not his bench. This year they can keep their starters under 32 mins. Faster pace under Brown means better looks. Means you don’t work as hard for shots. Then you add a better bench to the equation. Means you should have fresher bodies for playoffs. Browns offense is built to use all five starters. Less iso ball. Doesn’t mean they give up iso ball. Means they want more players involved in offense besides Brunson and Towns. I’m all for that.
All this talk about offense. Means what. Their problem last year was team D and their bench. On offense it was only Bridges who should of had more pts per game. Bridges avg 18 a gm. Need him at 22 a gm this year.
NYK offense will regress back to the same thing because their best player is a drive and flop maestro and their two big lineup can’t run up and down the court. Towns can’t even run with proper running form period.
Hart is by far the best passer and fit for an uptempo offense, but he’s undersized and cannot provide reliable shooting. OG, Bridges, Towns are not and have never been effective passers on offense. I don’t really even think Brunson is a great distributor outside of his passing when he is doubled or doesn’t get a whistle on a drive/flop. Now you expect him to cut, feed and flow? I don’t think it’s a sound strategy unless he plays less minutes, which is taking your best player off the floor, which makes your team worse.
NYK is ripe with potential for a blowup season, in my humble opinion, and I don’t think the players on this roster will ever output a win total that is equal to the sum of their individual talent.
However, you can count of them leading the league in begging the ref for phantom calls with their arms outstretched and toddler-level emotions on their faces, calling to the bench for challenges on plays that have no chance of being overturned and acting injured instead of playing defense when they turn the ball over and the play is still going on behind them.
Classic hater post – kudos!
Is Mike Brown a better basketball coach than Tom Thibodeau?
Druuu
It’s not really a discussion if Mike Brown is better than Tom thibodeau. It’s more about style. It’s the same thing I’d say about Doug Collins and Phil Jackson. Would the Collins one won the NBA finals the very next year with the bulls? In my opinion yes. Jordan upgraded Pippin in the all season taking them to the lab they barely lost the year before game 7. So Scotty taking such a small leap basically finished Detroit off. Where Phil Jackson was able to upgrade the team was the others.
That’s my point with Mike Brown over. Tom thibodau. Bronson is Bronson. Where thibodaux failed is utilizing his bench and creating plays for others. That’s all Mike Brown has to do to be a little more successful then last year. The team went to the Eastern conference finals and was out coached. They have the talent. Now would they have won the finals with that team last year? I don’t know. However they upgraded the bench unit so brown just needs to unlock The bench and bridges.
Why does that matter…. Only one head coach.
You are welcome to hate anytime……
Al we have to stop going back and forth with people who are not analyzing the game. No saying he doesn’t have valid points. However when a post says count them begging for calls. That’s not X’s and O’s and I wouldn’t even reply. He obviously just wants to argue with you or doesn’t like the Knicks. He doesn’t know what pace and space or horns or any set is.
I agree the Pace and space is not for Bronson. You can’t change players so late into their career. Sometimes the patient spaces for OG and heart, Bridges, McBride. Clarkson and Bronson are 1on 1 players you can incorporate pick and rolls with. Bridges should have a huge impact this year offensively as you stated.
Mr Buckets,
NYK legitimately should have lost to the Pistons in the playoffs. Down 21 in the 4th quarter of game 1, and a missed shooting foul call on a game winning 3pt attempt by Tim Hardaway Jr. in another game. It was multiple unlikely strokes of good luck to make it out of that series, not a sustainable formula.
And foul baiting is absolutely 100% a large strategy for Jalen Brunson. I don’t think it’s fun basketball, and I don’t think telling the truth about that obvious aspect of Brunson’s game somehow delegitimizes what I am saying.
If Thibs didn’t trust his bench and that’s all that was holding this team back, you should have just kept the same coach and got him better bench players. Instead, I believe, you brought in a worse coach and improved your bench. Now both your starters and bench have to relearn a new system. It doesn’t seem like a recipe for success, and now will be much easier to blame a playoff exit on the players instead of the new coach, and create the justification to reconfigure the roster in the upcoming offseason.
Every coach says they are going to push pace in the off-season
Imo Nyk doesn’t really have the personnel to do that and that’s fine … playoff basketball is played in the half court and that’s all that matters as they are almost guaranteed a top 4 spot with decent health
I might even argue If big IF they did try to go super fast regular season ( I don’t see it ) it could become risky putting the extra toll on guys like Kat Mitch and Jb . They might tinker early but I think it will naturally circle back to a slower half court style that suits them better and that’s 100% fine
Brown’s time as a Warriors assistant has made the pace and space concept his adopted style.
You may be right about the risk, but I think there’s no question it’s going to happen for better or worse.
Druu,
No they shouldn’t have lost to the pistons they were the better team. Can’t say coming back from 21 down with a young team that’s never been in the playoffs. Now the Celtics I can say something different but they beat the Celtics fair and square and were going to win the game JT was down. That’s what happens when you just shoot threes. I don’t think the Celtics coach is that great of a coach and I don’t think Brad Stevens is that great of a GM. Danny h put that team together and emadoka was the glue of that team. (Another post no need to respond to that)
Thibodaux and Mike Brown are neither bad coaches. They have not gotten over the hump and have weaknesses another coaches have been able to build on. The reason thibodaux wasn’t brought back was because he lost trust in bridges (they gave picks up for him) he didn’t develop or use the bench (Even though the bench is better this year he had bench players he could have played and had spot minutes for) and he had a slow pace offense with barley any sets. What he was really good at was getting the best and the most out of his star players and the defensive side of the basketball.
For Bronson And plays are called for him. It’s going to look like last year because that’s what he’s good at. Does he foul bait? Yes here and there. do I like it? No however, this is the drama fill NBA that we live in now ( another post we can argue this. But thank LeBron for this) however Mike Brown is here as someone else said Motion offense. Watching YouTube clips and film it looks like he runs a lot of handoffs and elbow-oriented actions. This will get bridges to his spots quicket on the ball. Movement with OG and towns and Bronson able get wide open looks without upping the ball in their hand. This is not meant for when brunson and towns runs pick and rolls or brunson gets a switch and goes one-on-one. That’s still going to happen the best player do it Curry including. You probably won’t see a lot of off-ball action with brunson, but we will with heart having the ball initiating with McBride coming off the elbow, forcing a switch with towns or dumping some type of elbow option. I can break it down a little further if you want. I ran a little bit of that in college, even though as a point I ran a lot of pick and roll and horns action.
The point is to get away from wearing guys like Bronson and towns out by having them have last clock situations which happened a lot in the playoffs. Will it work? We will see. I’m neither on Mike Brown or against Mike Brown. I’m for the Knicks. But as I will say to anybody, like I’ve said in mini post, I will always speak the truth. So if he’s trash he’s trash. If he’s great, he’s great. That’s what I said. Thibodaux was neither trash or great he just hit his ceiling with the team. That’s why they moved on
Been putting up with haters for years lol. I only care about get better. Been a long time for Knicks to get here. I’m just going to enjoy it. Nothing is guaranteed.
Dude this is basketball. Passing the ball more looking for easier shots. Uncontested shots. Is not a difficult thing. Knicks need this to get others involved in offense. The defense will still dictate the flow at times. It doesn’t mean you can’t move the ball around.
In the beginning of year with Thibs. Knicks offense had more ball movement and more team ast. Their offense was tops in NBA first half. What happened was we didn’t have a bench. So Thibs slowed it down and ysed more iso. And used more clock. This year Knicks have a bench. That makes all the difference in the world. Only haters who don’t know ball and don’t watch the Knicks. Can’t understand change. They did this under Thibs. Its not new. Depth allows you to do different things. It’s not rocket science. Knicks have high IQ players. Its what Thibs pushed ……give them 30 gms.
@KnickAl
Brown didn’t say that Brunson needs to be “running faster”. he said the whole offense will be at a faster tempo (a pace and space motion offense) and as the PG, Brunson has to implement it.
Yawns dude …… watch a Knicks game. You got answers after preseason gms. Nobody knows anything till 30 gms go by. Believe what you want. I know this game. I only need to see it in motion. Like I said when they hired Brown. Give them 20-30 gms.
Al, don’t waste your breath on this dude. He’s just hating and baiting.
Yeah I know. He’s a Warrior crybaby who cried about Kuminga for two yrs plus. The more he puts out there. The more he exposes himself lol …..
Al Buddy, don’t mix your beef here… pay closer attention, I expect more from NYC