Mike Brown: Knicks Need More Time for True Evaluation
CHICAGO – Mike Brown says he needs another month before he can accurately judge both his team and the rest of the NBA.
“It’ll take some time,” the coach explained. “It’s hard to get a true evaluation in the first five to 10 games. I think y’all have been in this league long enough — the first month or month and a half, everybody feels like they have a chance, and guys are playing hard and engaged. Sometimes you have teams that are on top early, but they’re not going to finish on top.
“Because teams are trying to find their way. So we’re just evaluating not just [one player], but everybody. Not just the defense, but the offense too. Keep doing that. Come about December or end of November, we should have a pretty good feel.”
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The Knicks are adjusting to a new coach but benefit from continuity, with the top seven players in the rotation returning from last season. Heading into their Halloween matchup against the Bulls, they hold a 2-2 record while ranked 24th in offense and seventh in defense.
“I think we’ve been pretty good defensively for some quarters and parts of the game,” said Jalen Brunson. “We haven’t played a full 48 minutes of offense or defense.”
Draymond Green Skeptical of Knicks as Contenders
Meanwhile, Draymond Green expressed doubts about the Knicks’ ability to contend this season. On his podcast, Green said, “I just don’t believe they’re contenders. I don’t think they have what it takes to win at the highest level. I think you can stifle their offense and make it hard on them. And I just think that ultimately, guys that don’t want to defend, it makes it tough to win at the highest level.”
Though Green did not call out any players by name, many associate the remarks with his longstanding criticism of Karl-Anthony Towns, who has frequently been questioned for his defense. Last season, Green accused Towns of faking an injury to avoid guarding Jimmy Butler; in reality, Towns was attending the funeral of a family friend.
Josh Hart’s Struggles and Brunson’s Support
Josh Hart has been struggling with his shooting after injuries to his finger and back. His close friend and teammate, Jalen Brunson, encouraged him to block out the criticism.
“One thing he does: when he’s locked in and he’s working on everything and he’s focused, it’s a different Josh, and you’ve seen it,” Brunson said. “When we get back to that, it’s just not listening to the outside noise. The fans are talking or whatever, and it’s impossible not to see it, but who gives a crap? People are gonna say what they want to say regardless of if we’re playing well or not.”
Through three games this season, Hart is averaging just 3.7 points on 22 percent shooting overall and 11 percent from three-point range.