Mike Brown’s honeymoon phase is over. Adversity has struck.
It was always bound to happen at some point — teams rarely go entire seasons without some sort of lull or hiccup. And now, Brown is facing the first test of his mettle.
“I do know, at the end of the day, anytime you go through a process, you’re gonna have your highs, you’re gonna have your lows, you’re gonna have your setbacks,” Brown said after practice Tuesday. “It’s about how do you deal with it? Do you embrace them and attack them head on? Or do you kind of let what’s going on impact how you’re playing? That, for us, is what the next challenge is.”
This Knicks dip came immediately after a big high.
They had won 11 of 12 games — including the NBA Cup — and were clicking on all cylinders. Brown’s vision — particularly the parts that differed from Tom Thibodeau, like his 3-point happy offense and use of his bench — looked like they had elevated the Knicks to another level.
There was strong belief after toppling the Spurs — who had just beaten the reigning champion Thunder — that this group had the right leader to be true contenders. The Cup was tangible proof of that.
Now, they are mired in a four-game losing streak — their first four-game skid since 2022 — and have gone 5-6 since the Cup.
They looked out of their depth in a measuring stick matchup with the Pistons, who are first in the East.
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They have dropped to third in the conference, behind the Celtics — who most viewed as a team in transition entering the year — and are now closer to the play-in than the top of the East. Their record right now is worse than at this same point last year, under Thibodeau. The defense is a mess. Brown’s free-flowing offense has gone stagnant. The contributions from his bench unit have dried up.
So, how does Brown get his team out of this rut?
“Spending time doing what we did today,” Brown said. “Whether you’re watching film, just as importantly going over it on the floor, talking about it and not just preparing for the next game is one of the ways. Starting with me, keeping everybody uplifted and reminding everybody what our standard is for sacrifice and competitive spirit to connectivity, staying connected, to a belief in each other and the process, knowing it’s gonna be a process — while telling the truth. Holding myself accountable, holding everybody else accountable. So those are things you continue to do. You lean on your standard, you lean on your foundation offensively and defensively to get through times like this.”
Brown’s affable personality is a stark contrast from Thibodeau. It’s easy to maintain that personality during good times, though. This is really the first time his players have seen him during a challenging period.
“He’s been upbeat, he’s been great,” Jalen Brunson said. “The sky isn’t falling. Yeah, we lost four in a row. Obviously, we don’t want to be in a position like that. We gotta be better, we gotta be positive, we gotta understand that we didn’t start the season great and then we played well after that. It’s just a stint that we just need to get out of.”
Even when they were rolling, Brown constantly expressed the idea that the season wouldn’t be linear and that there would eventually be a bump in the road. This bump, however, is likely bigger than he thought it would be.
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The first boos of the season have cropped up at Madison Square Garden. And Brown isn’t blaming the fans.
“As a fan, you have the right to panic,” Brown said. “You have a right to boo, you have the right to cheer. That’s what this is, this is a sport. Knicks fans are passionate. They’re pretty knowledgeable too, from the little bit of time that I’ve been here. I’m good with whatever they do.
“It’s up to us to make sure that we take care of us and we handle the process the right way. That’s what I’m more concerned about than anything else. I love Knicks fans, whether they panic or they don’t, or they boo or they cheer, I’ll still love them.”
At the moment, that lovefest has cooled. Time for Brown to rekindle the flame.
