It’s hard to imagine a better version of basketball than the playoff finish by the Knicks: 13 wins in the final 14 games — several in utterly dominant fashion.
But as the encore got underway this week at the Tarrytown practice facility, coach Mike Brown twice pumped the brakes on the idea that the steamroll will persist. At Monday’s Media Day, he cautioned that adversity is inevitable.
The Knicks certainly experienced that during a 2-9 stretch last season in January.
And after Tuesday’s first practice, the championship coach acknowledged the impossibility of maintaining the near perfection of the playoffs.
“We’re not playing at that level for 82 games,” Brown said. “You know, we played at a pretty high level, and … that’s not going to happen over 82 games. You know, for me, the 82-game season is about trying to find your way.”
Indeed, the Knicks aren’t predicted to smash any regular-season records. The East is too good and the veteran Knicks have clearly learned about pacing toward a sprint finish. A year ago, the young Thunder were coming off a championship and quickly threatened 70 victories (amid injuries, Oklahoma City finished with a 64-18 record). New York’s Over/Under for wins this season is in the low to mid-50s, depending on the sportsbook.
Part of the early adjustment will be trying to recapture the efficiency of an offense with Karl-Anthony Towns as the hub, a strategy that will become more difficult to implement when the opposition studies enough film to counter. The Knicks benefited from the element of surprise during the playoffs. They also weren’t dealing with tense contract negotiations — a reality facing the Knicks now, as extensions for Towns, Josh Hart and Miles McBride remain unoffered or unsigned.
“You don’t want that trickling into the season. Because whenever there’s uncertainty, there’s gonna be a lot of questions, there’s gonna be a lot of rumors,” Hart said. “At a human level, sometimes that can wear people down, and it can affect how you go out and handle business on a day-to-day basis.”
Another potential early hurdle, at least for the start of the season, is a rusty Jalen Brunson. The star point guard is coming off left wrist surgery that disrupted his typical summer routine.
“I don’t want to say I’m catching up,” Brunson said. “I feel good, but also I know that it wasn’t just my normal summer.”
Surgery to his left hand two years ago — after he fractured it in Game 7 of the 2024 Eastern Conference semifinals against the Pacers — was less of a hindrance because the rehab started earlier in the offseason (his procedure was in May). This time, Brunson didn’t know surgery was necessary until July.
“I was shooting earlier [two years ago] than I was this time. I was in a cast longer this time than I was before when I broke my hand,” Brunson said. “Plus it was a little bit earlier, I think I got surgery right after it happened [two years ago]. I didn’t get surgery for my wrist until like three weeks later because I didn’t know it was a necessity.”
It was also a once-in-a-lifetime type of summer for Brunson, who didn’t shy from the off-the-court limelight and opportunities that come with ending a 53-year title drought. He found it hard to relax.
“It exceeded expectations, honestly,” Brunson said about being a champ in NYC. “Winning in New York was no joke. It was a really cool experience. … Have I decompressed at all? Not really. I’m gonna be honest with you, not really. But I’ve had times where I had time to relax. I enjoyed that. I spent time getting away from everything. Most times, it was rehabbing. Once I was out of the cast and cleared, I had obligations I had to go through, so I did all of that. But I feel good. And I know where to go to get to my happy place. I know where to go when I need to decompress. I’m good.”
Brunson was obviously more than “good” in the playoffs. He was extraordinary. So were the Knicks. But they’re not making that the regular-season baseline.
“We’re gonna face new challenges throughout the course of the year. We’re gonna hit adversity, which, you know I said this last year, we’re gonna embrace it,” Brown said, “but we’re gonna hit adversity in an 82-game season.”
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