SAN ANTONIO — Mike Brown has never won a championship as a head coach. Before this spring, he hadn’t won a playoff series in the role since 2012.
But he has been part of two dynasties, collecting one ring with Tim Duncan’s Spurs, three with Stephen Curry’s Warriors and the memories of the supporting casts that helped immortalize those stars.
“I’ve been fortunate, blessed, lucky to be a part of some good coaching staffs and be with some great coaches, Steve Kerr, Gregg Popovich, they were guys that went deep into their bench,” Brown said earlier in the postseason. “You keep guys engaged by doing that, and you do develop not just a bench but the team, as well, because guys get used to playing with other guys …
“I’ve seen it work in the past, and that’s kind of what I thought I wanted to do here.”
Brown’s trust in his reserves ranks among the most significant changes from his predecessor, Tom Thibodeau.
But who will the Knicks coach be able to count on in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, with a chance to win the team’s first title since 1973?
Mitchell Robinson went 1-for-5 on shots at the rim in Game 4 and is shooting 30.8 percent on free throws. Landry Shamet has followed the best eight-game 3-point shooting stretch (67.6 percent) in postseason history by making 1-of-11 shots in the past two games. Jordan Clarkson had 10 points in Game 3, but has two points in the other three games combined. Miles McBride’s “Deuuuuuuce” chants continue to end with disappointment, as he’s shot 4-for-20, with 2.8 points per game, in the series.
“I’m always going to stay confident, knowing I can impact the game in a lot of different ways,” McBride said Friday. “I’m going to make shots. I’m never worried about that. … Anybody is capable of it, 1 through 15 on this team. We’re pushing each other to be better. That’s how our team has been. We’re motivators. We want to uplift everybody. I think having a team like that, you can do a lot of great things.”
Jose Alvarado was the latest example, recording eight points, three assists and two rebounds in the final 10 minutes of their miraculous Game 4 win.
But who will Brown turn to next?
“This bench is deep and he trusts everybody,” Alvarado said. “Some days it’s my day, some days it’s somebody else’s day. … These are the times and moments you wait for.”
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