Knicks' Mike Brown Faces Rotation Challenges

Mike Brown must fix one key problem that has plagued the New York Knicks.

Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown during the fourth quarter against the Brooklyn Nets. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown is entering his first season with the team, where he will be tasked with taking the franchise over the hump and into the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.

His predecessor Tom Thibodeau faced issues with the team's small rotation, which often only featured seven or eight players in the playoffs when the Knicks needed more depth.

ESPN insider Chris Herring emphasized the team's need to get a more balanced rotation in the upcoming season.

"Setting aside the heavy workload, New York's starting five of Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby got outscored from Jan. 1 to the end of the regular season, then was outscored during the postseason," Herring wrote.

"That raises more questions about the viability of keeping that group together for such long stretches, particularly when other lineups with reserves Miles McBride and Mitchell Robinson often performed better because of the extra space, defense or rebounding they provided."

Brown last coached in a playoff series back in 2023 with the Sacramento Kings, where he often employed a nine-man rotation in the postseason.

The goal for the Knicks should be to have that amount of people capable of playing at least 10 minutes in every postseason game. That will give New York more stamina in the long run without having to play an intense, heavy amount of minutes during the regular season and playoffs.

Three of the top five players in minutes per game this past season were Hart, Bridges and Anunoby, who all played over 36 minutes per game. Just 12 players in the entire league played more than 36 minutes per game, and three of them came from the Knicks. That's simply not a recipe for success.

If Brown can find the solution for this obstacle, the Knicks should be closer to a championship.

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