Mike Brown took one thing of a silver lining from the Knicks’ 0-3 street journey.
Though the consecutive losses in Miami, Milwaukee and Chicago served as a actuality examine for a crew with championship aspirations, Brown believes his new-look Knicks delivered their two finest halves of the season throughout that in any other case uninspiring stretch.
The subsequent step, Brown says, is to play that manner persistently.
“I mentioned this to [Knicks president] Leon [Rose]. Even after our first two wins, I mentioned, ‘Hey, we are able to play higher.’ We obtained the win, however we’ve obtained to play significantly better,” Brown mentioned Sunday, earlier than starting a season-long seven-game homestand by internet hosting the Chicago Bulls.
“After that second win, in case you embrace preseason, we had been 6-1, however we had been studying and rising. We hadn’t performed nicely. Our two finest halves of basketball had been the primary half in Milwaukee and the second half in Chicago. Hopefully, we are able to string 48 minutes collectively, nevertheless it’s a course of, and our guys are getting higher.”
The Knicks led by 12 factors at halftime earlier than faltering defensively in Tuesday’s 121-111 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. Three days later, the Knicks surrendered 72 first-half factors earlier than outscoring the Bulls by 9 within the second half of that 135-125 defeat.
Sunday’s recreation was the Knicks’ sixth beneath Brown, who was employed as head coach within the offseason to exchange Tom Thibodeau.
The Knicks had been with out heart Mitchell Robinson (left ankle harm administration) for the primary 4 of these video games, whereas guard Josh Hart missed final month’s season-opening win over the Cleveland Cavaliers with lumbar spasms and struggled upon returning.
Karl-Anthony Cities has not missed a recreation, regardless of coping with what he described after the season opener as a Grade 2 quad pressure.
These accidents have sophisticated the Knicks’ progress beneath Brown, who can be attempting to include a revamped bench that added guard Jordan Clarkson and ahead Guerschon Yabusele in the course of the offseason and that’s needed to navigate the sudden retirement of backup level guard Malcolm Brogdon.
“There’s quite a lot of newness, however in case you’re out, you’re out, and there’s no reps there,” Brown mentioned. “So we simply should continue to learn on the fly, beginning with me. I’ve obtained to maintain attempting to get higher faster, and everyone has to get higher faster.”
The Knicks started Sunday ranked eleventh within the NBA by permitting 115.4 factors per recreation, however they surrendered 123.7 factors per recreation in the course of the winless street journey.
Offensively, the Knicks entered Sunday ranked twenty fifth in factors per recreation (113.4) and twenty eighth in subject purpose share (42.4%) on the season.
“The one factor that may be constant for us is on the defensive aspect of the ground,” Brown mentioned. “We have to guarantee that we’re constant on that finish of the ground whereas we’re getting caught on top of things offensively, which is able to occur.”
ROBINSON ACTIVE
Robinson began Sunday’s recreation after coming in listed as questionable for harm administration on his left ankle.
The 7-foot heart made his season debut on Friday and scored 4 factors with 11 rebounds in 20 minutes.
The Knicks proceed to be cautious with Robinson, their defensive anchor, after he underwent surgical procedures on that left ankle in December of 2023 and Could of 2024.
Robinson appeared in solely 17 video games final common season earlier than being a major contributor in the course of the Knicks’ run to the Japanese Convention Finals.
Brown mentioned it could be as much as coach Casey Smith and his crew to find out whether or not Robinson would even be accessible for Monday’s recreation towards the Washington Wizards, which is the second leg of the Knicks’ first back-to-back of the season.
“I’m simply gonna observe their lead,” Brown mentioned. “I do know they instructed me they will play as we speak, so I’m gonna take it.”
