Significant changes in how the Knicks play are expected under new head coach Mike Brown.
The idea is that these changes will raise their ceiling to that of a true championship contender. With the preseason over, some of those changes were already evident — and others are still a work in progress.
Let’s take a look at where the most important changes stand:
Pace
Last year, the Knicks had the fifth-lowest pace in the NBA, averaging 97.64 possessions per 48 minutes. Brown’s previous teams have always ranked near the top of the league in that regard, and he was adamant he wanted to get the Knicks playing faster and more in transition.
But, disregarding the international teams that featured in a few games across the league, the Knicks had the second-lowest pace among all teams in the preseason. They averaged 98.55 possessions per 48 minutes, so a marginal increase from last year’s mark, but not exactly the transformation Brown is looking for.
Brown pointed to injuries as to why that development has been slower.
“The guys that have been out, they’re the key pieces to what we’re trying to do,” Brown said after the 113-108 win over the Hornets on Friday at Madison Square Garden in the preseason finale. “They haven’t gotten the reps and for us to jell together from top to bottom is gonna take a little more time than I thought.”
Lineup
The biggest change will come from the bigs. Mitchell Robinson is expected to start, with Josh Hart moving to the bench, as he did toward the end of the postseason last year.
That means Karl-Anthony Towns will be playing power forward rather than center.
Towns and Robinson played three preseason games together — two wins over the 76ers and a win over the Timberwolves.
Towns played 30 minutes a game and averaged 9.0 points on a rough 26.3 percent shooting from the field; he also averaged 6.3 assists. Robinson played 14.8 minutes a game and averaged 4.7 points along with 10.0 rebounds (including 3.0 offensive rebounds).
Jalen Brunson’s role
Brown wants Brunson to play more off the ball, which should result in less isolations and make it easier for him to find open shots.
It was evident in the preseason, with Brunson cutting more off the ball, coming off screens and finding more catch-and-shoot opportunities. It looked a bit erratic at the start of the preseason, but was more polished by the end.
It also allowed some of the periphery scorers to get more involved, particularly Mikal Bridges. He averaged 12.8 points on 50 percent shooting from the field in 23.1 minutes a game in the preseason.
Bench
Brown is expected to utilize his bench much more than Tom Thibodeau did. His bench should also be much deeper than Thibodeau’s with the additions of Guerschon Yabusele and Jordan Clarkson, the return of Landry Shamet and Hart joining the unit with a fully healthy Robinson in the starting lineup.
Starters were naturally not going to get full workloads in the preseason, but Brown’s desire to lean more on his bench was visible.
Yabusele and Clarkson struggled, however.
They were minus-9.6 and minus-6.0, respectively. Yabusele shot 31.0 percent from the field, while Clarkson shot 38.8 percent from the field. Clarkson also averaged 1.8 turnovers in 18.4 minutes per game.
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