Mike Brown's 5 Best Decisions That Fueled Knicks' Title

Mike Brown has proven to be the right hire for the New York Knicks.

Brown faced tremendous pressure after taking over Tom Thibodeau. It seemed as if Brown faced a mandate to make the NBA Finals when he took the job. Then team owner James Dolan said in a radio interview in January that the Knicks should make the NBA Finals and win it all.

Brown delivered, becoming one of six coaches since 1976 to win a championship in the first year with a team.

Here are five of Brown’s best decisions en route to helping the Knicks win a championship.

1. Sticking with the starting five

For two seasons, the Knicks’ starting five of Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, and Karl-Anthony Towns was frankly disappointing. A team built on its top-end talent, that unit was barely outscoring opponents over two seasons combined.

There were plenty of times where it appeared as if those five players did not know how to play together. During the regular season, the Knicks regularly began games in deficits that they had to claw back from (ironically, this happened in all five Finals games).

There were calls from fans and media alike to change the starting five — either by taking out Hart or Bridges.

Brown seemed to know that this just wasn’t feasible. Hart provides too many intangibles for the Knicks. He pushes the pace, plays with energy, rebounds, and looks to get others involved more than anyone else on the roster. He plays too selflessly to bench, and the Knicks would miss his verve if he were taken out.

Benching Bridges would be too political. It would be a vote of lack of confidence in the player the Knicks traded five first-round picks for. In addition to whatever message it would have sent to the front office, it also would have crushed Bridges’ confidence.

Brown’s insistence on keeping the starting five paid off in the playoffs. Things clicked into place for them, whether through internal reckoning or schematic changes. In 263 postseason minutes, that starting five had a 12.6 net rating. Over their final 16 games (from Game 4 of the first-round series and on), they had a 17.9 net rating.

The starters weren’t always perfect, but they were the lineup Brown trusted the most, and their experience and familiarity pushed them forward just when the team needed it the most.

2. Keeping the starters' minutes low

This was a glaring departure from Thibodeau. White Brunson still averaged 35 minutes a night (as he has every year with the Knicks), Anunoby’s minutes dropped from 36 to 33 per game, Towns dropped from 35 minutes per game to 31, Bridges from 37 to 33, and Hart from 37 to 30 per game.

The Knicks’ starters were sharper and fresher as they got deep into the postseason. Of course, it helped that the Knicks also blew out opponents in the playoffs, both game to game and in series. That kept minutes low. Even then, Brown took players out early when games got out of reach — another stark difference from Thibodeau.

In turn, Brown played his bench more, giving young players opportunities that Thibodeau almost surely wouldn’t have: players like Tyler Kolek, Mo Diawara, and Kevin McCullar Jr. all had big regular-season moments that swung games. Those guys didn’t see playoff minutes, but that experience could pay off down the line.

3. Turning Karl-Anthony Towns into a “hub”

Down 2-1 to the Hawks in the first round, Brown changed the Knicks offense. To combat the pressure Brunson was facing from Hawks’ defenders, Brown put the ball in Towns’ hands as the "hub" of the Knicks offense. It swung the Knicks’ playoff fortunes.

Towns would receive the ball at the top of the key as Knicks guards and wings would screen for each other, running split cuts and flex cuts. Towns fired passes to open spaces like a quarterback hitting receivers, and the Knicks began to put the Hawks in the blender. Atlanta could not keep up.

Over the first two rounds of the playoffs, Towns averaged 6.6 assists per game and posted two triple-doubles. The adjustment freed up the Knicks offense and energized Towns; suddenly, there were fewer questions and comments about Towns’ role in the offense.

This scheme died off as the playoffs went on and opponents changed, but it was a key adjustment, nonetheless.

4. Turning back to Landry Shamet

It’s easy to forget now, but Landry Shamet had practically fallen out of Brown’s rotation early in the playoffs. After two poor games against the Hawks, Shamet played just 11 total minutes over the next three games. He got some playing time in Game 6 against the Hawks and Game 1 against the Sixers — two blowouts — but played just eight minutes again in Game 2 of the Philly series.

Then, facing an early hole in Game 3 against the Sixers, Brown went back to Shamet. He responded with energy and efficiency, giving his usual strong effort on defense while hitting 5-of-6 shots for 13 points. Suddenly, Shamet was back in the rotation.

From Game 3 of the Sixers series through Game 2 of the Finals, Shamet hit 19 of 30 three-pointers (63.3%). He hit two massive threes in Game 1 against the Cavaliers and several momentum-turning shots against the Spurs.

Once again, Brown’s flexibility and willingness to go outside of his rotations paid off.

5. Closing with Jose Alvarado in Game 4 of the Finals

When Knicks fans look back on this championship run, they may first remember the Knicks’ historic, 29-point comeback in Game 4 of the Finals. It was arguably the emotional peak of the postseason.

There were heroes abound in that game, including Jose Alvarado.

Some had called for Brown to play a point guard alongside Brunson to relieve some of the defensive pressure Brunson was facing from the Spurs’ hellacious defenders. Brown turned to his backup point guard in the biggest moment and he delivered.

Alvarado scored eight points in the fourth quarter, including two massive threes to pull the Knicks back into the game. His ball-handling was pivotal, too, as he screened for Brunson, caught passes, and took on the Spurs’ scrambling defense, igniting the Knicks’ offense in turn.

It was an atypical look for a huge Finals moment — two small guards, theoretically playing the same position, against a giant, physical Spurs team. Alvarado finished that game as a +11 in 16 minutes, and it arguably swung the series for the Knicks.

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