Mike Brown arrived in New York with a new system and a clear vision — and just three days into training camp, he says the Knicks are already ahead of schedule.
“I tell you what, the team is probably a little bit ahead on both sides of the ball than what I expected we’d be at this point,” Brown said Friday after practice at the team’s Tarrytown facility. “They’ve been working hard. They’ve been trying to pick up stuff on both ends of the floor as quickly as possible.”
Brown is bringing a West Coast identity to Madison Square Garden — the same up-tempo, ball-moving system he ran in Sacramento. The Knicks are betting on that style — one built on speed, spacing and selflessness — to unlock another level after last season’s run to the Eastern Conference Finals.
“Their attentiveness has been great,” said Brown. “Today was the first time where we really had a chance to bump heads and scrimmage. So when you go against a different color jersey instead of just going through it 5-on-0 or against the coaches, it’s a little different. But our guys did a good job. It’ll be even more different when we go against Philly in Abu Dhabi. I like our progress so far — but we’ve still got a long way to go.”
Alongside his offensive principles, Brown has also begun laying the groundwork for a new defensive structure. Last season, the Knicks struggled to contain the point of attack and fell short in transition defense. Brown wants to fix both — and he’s doing it with clearly defined rules. Protect the basket first. Declare the ball. Load the paint. Identify the opposing team’s most dangerous player. And if you’re the last one back, cover the weak side.
“If we can follow those rules, we know we’ll have a pretty good chance of being a good defensive transition team,” he said.
It starts with what Brown calls “next play speed” — the ability to instantly shift gears after a turnover or a missed shot and sprint back into defensive mode.
“If we turn the ball over, or somebody misses a shot that we hoped they wouldn’t take, and the other team is breaking the other way, we go from offense to defense just like that,” Brown said, snapping his fingers. “Now we’re sprinting back. Having that next play speed ability at a very high level is something, in my opinion, that separates really good teams from great teams.”
The pace and tempo Brown demands apply to both ends of the floor. While the schemes may look different, OG Anunoby says the essence of the defense remains the same — just with more urgency and communication.
“Mainly defense is all the same,” said Anunoby. “Just getting into the ball more. Every team wants to get into the ball. But getting into the ball, a lot of talk early and often. It’s communication.”
The Knicks are already adapting to a new identity. A team once built to grind out possessions and wear opponents down now wants to turn stops into sprints. The shift is tangible inside the practice facility — and players are embracing the challenge of change.
“Things are different obviously, but certain things are definitely different than what we’ve done in the past couple of years,” said Jalen Brunson. “But we knew that coming in. It’s all about how we adapt, how we adjust, and how quickly we do so. Making sure we help each other learn.”
The Knicks will soon travel to Abu Dhabi for their two preseason matchups against the Philadelphia 76ers. Brown’s system sounds promising. Now comes the hard part — executing it.
“I don’t know how long it’s going to take me [to learn everything], but hopefully relatively fast,” said Brunson. “I think even with Thibs the past couple of years, we were still learning how to do certain things. We were still getting better. I don’t want to say I’m going to master it at any point. I just want to continue to get better and better and be more fluent at it.
“It’s going to be a process for sure.”