Are Knicks About to Get The Real Mike Brown?

Desperate times call for desperate measures for the New York Knicks.

After what took place at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 19, with the Knicks taking an embarrassing 114-97 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, this may actually be what the team needed in order to bring out the real Mike Brown.

Postgame, Brown echoed an interesting quote when asked about what buttons he may need to push to get this team back on track.

He simply answered with, "Yea I got some ideas," per a video of the press conference posted by the team on YouTube.

With the state the Knicks have been in over the last few weeks mixed in with who Brown is at his core as far as a competitor, there's not to much to say after that.

Mike Brown has been holding back with the Knicks.

Over the last couple of seasons, the Knicks have experienced success with high seeds, deep playoff runs, even an NBA Cup title earlier this campaign. There hasn't been much to be upset about if you are a Knicks fans up until the last couple of weeks.

The aftermath of the team's loss to Dallas was the most passion Brown has shown in his short tenure with the Knicks, beginning with him calling out the lack of effort and seriousness his squad showed at the start of the game with one simple message:

"Bottom line is we gotta lock in. We gotta do our job for 48 minutes," Brown expressed.

"There was nothing to be said at halftime except for lock in a do your [expletive] job, no X's and O's just do your job and do it early, so it's within our guys but we all have to do our jobs for 48 minutes and it didn't happen tonight."

The game of basketball is played for 48 minutes, and it seemed as if Brown's halftime message got through to his team, as the Knicks were able to hold down the Mavericks in three major categories in the second half.

1. Dallas' points in the paint: First half (28 pts), second half (16 pts)
2. Mavs' fast-break points: First half (27 pts), second half (7 pts)
3. Dallas' point total: Second quarter (44 pts), second half (39 pts)

Who is the real Mike Brown?

Brown, for much of his coaching career, has been known as a guy who is professional and well-liked around the league. His head coaching stints consist of the Cleveland Cavaliers (2005-2010), Los Angeles Lakers (2011-2012), Sacramento Kings (2022-2024) and now the Knicks.

Jan 15, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) hugs New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown while guard Stephen Curry (30) looks on following their game at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images | D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

While Brown has a very light-hearted side that is friendly with players, coaches, media etc, that comes with equally with a burning competitive fire that revolves around one thing: winning, which has yet to be seen as the Knicks' coach.

Despite the turmoil the Knicks are in, they are still currently the third seed in the Eastern Conference. Knicks guard Miles "Deuce" McBride spoke about how the recent success the Knicks have had could've backfired.

"I think it's human nature coming off a great year last year, exceeding expectations, win the Cup everybody's feeling good about themselves and now we are getting bounced back to earth," McBride said.

How will the Knicks respond?

When adversity hits, it challenges who you are as a person. Like Brown said in his postgame press conference, he said "we" have to do our jobs, which is a positive sign from the head of the snake. The Brooklyn Nets will be their next test.

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