Mike Brown is perhaps barking “turn on the motherfu—– jets,” however this season, the one factor sprinting is his thoughts.
The Knicks’ new head coach, recognized for going viral throughout his Sacramento tenure for sprinting (and cursing) in follow, is taking a distinct strategy in New York. Again then, it was half efficiency, half precept — a fiery demonstration meant to show the Kings into the league’s fastest-paced staff by main from the entrance.
Mike Brown was requested if he’ll “turn on the motherf***ing jets” once more at Knicks follow: “I don’t think I will.” 💔
“You know, that was just dumb. It was dumb first of all. It was just a spur-of-the-moment thing. Both of my hammy’s could have been gone. Both of my Achilles could have been gone. I’m conscious of that,” Brown mentioned with amusing after Day 2 of Knicks coaching camp in Tarrytown on Thursday. “I’m 55. I know if I’m going to do something — just like this process, I’ve got to start slow and gradual. I haven’t done that yet. I don’t think I will do that. Who knows?”
Sluggish and gradual — for Brown, at the least. Not for his gamers.
The Knicks might quickly be outlined by their tempo, and Brown is shaping that identification from the sidelines. He’s traded his sprinting footwear for a whistle, however the message is identical: play quick, play collectively, and push the tempo with function.
On Wednesday, Brown lined his staff up on the finish of follow — and had them run for each missed free throw. Earlier, he stalked the baseline as his gamers drilled quick breaks: rebound, outlet, dash, end. No jogging allowed.
“A lot of conditioning. Getting up and down the court,” Mitchell Robinson mentioned after follow. “[He’s] putting in a lot of new things that I never seen before, so it’s gonna be a process — but I’m all for it.”
“I’m pretty tired, I’m not gonna lie,” added Guerschon Yabusele. “But that’s what I need. First practice was pretty good. I think we got a little chemistry going on so we’re gonna be working on it especially on the details and we’re gonna work and get better.”
Pace is just the start.
Brown is reshaping the Knicks’ offense in actual time — from a system constructed on isolation and Jalen Brunson’s brilliance to at least one grounded in motion, tempo, and collective rhythm. The shift is already seen at camp, the place each lower, move, and movement carries which means.
“Just a lot more player movement, ball movement,” mentioned Miles McBride. “I think last year at times we got stagnant and we relied on a lot of isolation shots, which is just tough down the stretch. I think this year is going to be a little more freedom with the movement and a lot of guys cutting and getting guys getting active.”
BROWN’S STAPLES
Brown doesn’t need the Knicks enjoying by the e-book — he needs them enjoying by intuition.
Which means transferring away from inflexible play calls and embracing a conceptual, read-and-react type of basketball. For it to work, each participant — from the celebs to the final man on the bench — should function with the identical instincts, see the identical cues, and belief the identical rules.
That begins with what Brown calls his “staples.”
“What I mean by that is our staples are really important, starting with pace and spacing, paint touches, quick decisions, ball reversals,” he mentioned. “Those things are extremely important to us.”
Drill the staples first. Then come the “automatics.”
“[Those are] basically reads where if the ball goes this way or bodies go that way, that tells the next player, ‘you got to go this way or that way,’” he defined.
Conceptual basketball is organized chaos: no set calls, no telegraphed actions — only a shared language of motion. To Brown, it’s a aggressive benefit.
“Because the defense doesn’t know what’s coming. You have a couple of options you can do every time the ball moves or somebody else moves, and it’s your choice,” he mentioned. “And if you’re doing it with pace and the floor spaced very well, we become hard to guard.”
That’s the aim — nevertheless it’s not fast.
Day 1 of camp was about laying the muse: getting conversant in the staples. Day 2 was about constructing on it — quick. Working too gradual up the courtroom on a quick break? Brown’s whistle sounds and the drill begins over. Not trailing as a floor-spacing large? Rim-run as onerous as you possibly can — or, you guessed it, Brown’s whistle blows and the drill begins over.
“It’s our philosophy,” Brown mentioned. “We feel like it’s worked in the past. It can help anybody — especially when you have a group like we have here that’s talented and multi-dimensional.”
There’s a pure edge to enjoying quick — and the Knicks, who too usually fell behind the tempo final season, comprehend it.
“Playing fast is gonna help us get to another level,” mentioned Josh Hart. “While you’ve received guys like Mikal [Bridges] and OG [Anunoby], who can play superb off the catch, getting them into transition and getting them into place the place they will assault the basket and [make plays] … it causes the protection to break down, which supplies Jalen and KAT [Karl-Anthony Towns] extra space. So the flexibility to play quick is gonna assist us so much.
“And when you do that, the ball is moving. Everyone is happy. The ball finds energy. We do that, obviously it trickles into all other aspects: making sure defensively we’re there and communicating and those kinds of things. So I think it’s gonna help a lot.”
CHANGING ROLES
Pace is one staple. Selflessness is one other.
Underneath Brown, the ball gained’t stick — which was one of many largest criticisms of the offense positioned on Brunson’s shoulders.
The All-Star level guard led the NBA in dribbles, touches, and time of possession final season. That gained’t occur once more — by design. Brown needs Brunson off the ball extra early in video games, to not restrict his influence, however to protect it — holding him contemporary for the ultimate stretch, the place he thrives because the league’s reigning Clutch Participant of the 12 months.
“I’ve always been in different roles throughout my career, even in college,” Brunson mentioned. “When I lock in on a role, figure out how I’m going to be best with it, I’ve done pretty well with it. We’ve got to obviously be willing to adapt, be willing to change, figure how we’re going to be the best team possible moving forward. If you want to win, you’ll do it. It’s that simple.”
The selflessness doesn’t cease there.
Brown can also be reimagining how Karl-Anthony Cities is used inside the offense. Whereas Cities posted sturdy counting stats in his first season in New York, a lot of his touches got here on the prime of the ground in pick-and-pop units. His post-ups got here in flashes. His playmaking flashed even much less.
That’s altering.
“We don’t want to keep him at the trail spot or the top of the floor all the time,” mentioned Brown. “We need to transfer him round — to the weak nook, sturdy nook, weak wing, typically because the push man offensively. And when he’s on the 5, we really feel he’s a very good passer.
“So sometimes he’ll be at the rim, sometimes he’ll be at the elbow. And when he’s at the elbow, that’s when he’s going to be in a big decision-making role. And we feel like he’s more than capable of making great decisions with the basketball.”
Pace, selflessness, and don’t overlook the spacing. With eight core rotation gamers not named Robinson boasting a number of seasons of above-average three-point taking pictures, the Knicks are constructed to stretch the ground. If Landry Shamet and Malcolm Brogdon crack the opening-night roster, that’s 10 of 11 who can’t be left alone on the perimeter.
Brown might not be sprinting up and down the sideline anymore, however make no mistake: his fast-paced, read-and-react offense is working full velocity in New York.
And the Knicks are all in.
“It’s a process, it’s gonna take a while, always look at this thing as a marathon, it’s not a sprint,” added Brown. “So we’ll keep building on it while trying to sprinkle in a few new things on both sides of the floor here and there.”
