If you watched the Knicks’ preseason win over Minnesota on Thursday, you know that the players are still getting used to Mike Brown’s offense.
They shot 34 percent from the field and missed 42 of their 57 three-point attempts.
Brown doesn’t care about those numbers. He doesn’t care about most of what you see in a box score at the moment.
“Right now, I don’t care if we win or lose, as long as we keep trying to play the right way and trust it,” Brown said after New York’s overtime win. “Because we have a great shooting team, not a good shooting team, a great shooting team. If we’re getting catch and shoot shots and the feet are set and the defense is collapsing and then have to go back out – so we call those two-way stunts – I’ll take that every day, anytime of the day or night.”
Brown hasn’t installed any plays yet. He wants the Knicks to get used to playing with the right concepts. It’s process over results at this point.
“I want them to learn how to play basketball the right way offensively within our staples. That’s pace, whether it’s in the full court or the half court. And it’s spacing,” Brown said. “IF you hit that paint and you don’t have the ball, don’t just stand there. Get out right now and re-space to create more opportunities for driving and kicking…. Space the right way all the time…(execute) ball reversals to move the defense. Paint touches, not just on the dribble drive with cuts and rolls and quick decisions. Hey, it hits your hands, shoot it, pass it, snap drive it to try to collapse the defense. Those are things that we believe in.”
That’s what matters most to Brown right now. He saw it in spurts on Thursday, but not as often as he’d like.
“I thought at the start of the game we had a lot of great shots, the type of shots that we wanted; we just didn’t make them, which I’m OK with,” Brown said. “Especially right now. I want them to keep taking those shots. I thought after they didn’t go in through the first part of the first quarter, our guys stopped trusting it a little bit. And we started holding onto the ball a little bit too much. And the ball wasn’t popping, the space wasn’t there. We weren’t touching the paint.
“All of the things that we talk about (weren’t happening). We have to be a little bit more consistent with it throughout the course of the game.”
BRIDGES IS A FAN OF BROWN
Mikal Bridges has played for Mike Brown for less than a month. But Bridges already has an appreciation for Brown’s approach.
“Just being on guys, holding guys accountable, preaching everything every single day. He and his coaches, they all run a tight ship. You can tell that whatever we’re doing out there, they’re all on the same page, no matter what the situation is,” Bridges said after Thursday’s game. “And that’s a lot of credit to him… for everybody to be on the same page makes it easier for us players when they talk to us because any coach you talk to, you’re going to hear the same thing.
“It’s been great, man. And I love just how he pushes us. Accountability. You can make some good plays and a couple plays, you feel like you’re not doing the right thing. He’s going let you know. Why wouldn’t you want that? Maybe in the moment, some guys might be a little upset about it. But if you’re going to get where we want to get to, man, it ain’t gonna be no Mr. Nice guy. You’ve gotta hold people accountable. And he doesn’t do it in a disrespectful way. He just wants greatness out of everybody and just being accountable is great.”
Mikal Bridges on Mike Brown:
“Accountability. You could make some good plays & a couple plays you feel like you’re not doing the right thing he’s going to let you know. Why wouldn’t you want that? If we want to get to where we want to get to there ain’t gonna be no Mr. Nice Guy” pic.twitter.com/H3ZwcXbmAP
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) October 10, 2025
