Mike Brown knew what he was walking into. Tom Thibodeau spent five seasons as the Knicks’ head coach, turned the program around and led New York to its first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 25 years — then got fired three days later. That seat was hot before Brown was even hired to sit in it.
Knicks management (and ownership) felt a change was needed to this roster to take one more step.
Is Mike Brown the change the Knicks need?
The answer to that question will play out between now and next June, but this much we know now: Things will be different. At times, very different. That starts with the biggest criticism Thibodeau faced.
Using the bench
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No five-man lineup played more minutes across the league last season than the Knicks starting five of Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns — and it wasn’t close. The growing concern was that Thibodeau stuck with that group in heavy rotation even as opponents started to figure them out and their efficiency slipped. From the start of the season through Dec. 31, the starting five had a +6.6 net rating. However, as teams adapted, this fell to a -1.4 net rating from Jan. 1 through the end of the season. Come the playoffs, that five-some had a -6.2 net rating (and still played the most minutes of any five-man lineup).
Tom Thibodeau did not trust his bench, at least until he had to, and by then it was too late in the playoffs. The biggest change is that Mike Brown is going to lean into his bench on Day 1.
That bench will be led by either Hart or Michel Robinson, whichever one is not the fifth starter (in Abu Dhabi, Robinson started, which seems the likely direction Brown goes). There are the newcomers Jordan Clarkson, Guerschon Yabusele and Malcolm Brogdon. Miles McBride will have a significant bench role (and looked good against the 76ers in Abu Dhabi). Landry Shamet will be in the mix as well.
Will that bench make a real impact this season? It’s a legitimate question. Clarkson is still a bucket but a defensive liability. Brogdon will turn 33 before Christmas and has seen his efficiency drop in recent seasons. Yabusele was solid but not special for the 76ers last season (after having been out of the NBA for years). There are good players there, but still questions all around.
Brown is going to give his bench a real chance to answer those questions, searching for combinations and rotations that work. However, when things get serious next postseason, how much will Brown really be able to trust this group?
Ball movement, player movement
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Part of the reason the Knicks’ starters saw opposing defenses start to figure them out last season is that the offense could be static. Jalen Brunson pounded the ball out top — he held the ball for an average of six seconds every time he touched it, the longest of anyone in the league (of players with more than 20 games) — and the ball movement tended to be station to station.
If one thing looked different in the first two Knicks preseason games, it’s that the ball and players were moving. Robinson seemed more of a hub for the offense, both out of the high post and the pinch post. The Knicks’ floor spacing was better as well, opening lanes to drive.
> This feels more like the type of movement and flow the New York Knicks are building towards. Wing cuts on both sides, quick decisions. [pic.twitter.com/vMIgfdUq0h](https://t.co/vMIgfdUq0h)
>
> — Steve Jones (@stevejones20) [October 4, 2025](https://twitter.com/stevejones20/status/1974493124455002158?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
Towns seemed comfortable from the start in the offense, even though everyone else appeared to be thinking about what to do rather than just reacting and flowing. This is to be expected with a new offense and will come with time. What we have seen so far is promising.
One other thing to watch: Brown has said he wants the Knicks to shoot more 3-pointers, aiming for more than 40 a game (last season, the Knicks averaged 34.1 a game, a bottom-five attempt rate in the league). It’s fair to ask if the Knicks have the shooters to put that many up and be efficient, but Brown is going to try. Expect to see a lot of five-out lineups.
That trying has to start with Towns, who took fewer 3-pointers per game last season (4.7) than he has since before the pandemic.
Playing faster
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Mike Brown said he wanted the Knicks to play faster, but that was met with shrugs — there is no NBA tradition quite like a coach saying he wants his team to play faster this year. Every coach says that. Every year.
The Knicks, however, seem to have taken that to heart in the preseason. New York scored 20.3% of its points on the break in its two preseason games, compared to 13.6% last regular season.
It’s not just the numbers, it’s the eye test. Brunson is pushing the ball. Mitchell Robinson was out running, too.
A few easy buckets in transition every game is a massive boost for an offense.
Defense
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New York had a middle-of-the-pack defense last season, it was the top-five offense that carried them to 51 wins and eventually the Eastern Conference Finals.
Brown is tweaking the defense. Bridges is no longer going to be the team’s primary point-of-attack defender, which is a good thing because he’s better as a help defender or jumping passing lanes. That leads to the question of who will be the primary on-ball defender, and that may fall more to Anunoby.
Brown also has a healthy Mitchell Robinson — New York’s defense was 3.6 points per 100 possessions better last season with Robinson on the court in the regular season, and that jumped to five points per 100 in the playoffs. The expectation is that the Knicks will use a lot of Robinson and Towns together, likely starting games and probably closing them as well.