Knicks coach Mike Brown credits mid-season hiatus for Finals surge
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NEW YORK — Mike Brown’s coaching journey has swung from two NBA Coach of the Year awards to four dismissals, the latest coming when Sacramento let him go midway through last season. Unsure whether another bench job would surface, Brown and his wife embarked on an extended trip that took them to a UFC event in Australia, followed by stops in Mexico and the Caribbean before they eventually landed in New York.
“I just wanted to have fun, and if an opportunity came up, great,” Brown said. “If it didn’t, I felt lucky, blessed, fortunate. I had a good run.”
The opportunity arrived when Knicks owner James Dolan and team president Leon Rose asked Brown to replace a staff that had already enjoyed regular-season success. Early lineup tweaks and an unfamiliar system prompted some resistance, but the club steadied and has since swept three Eastern Conference opponents, including Cleveland on Monday, to reach the NBA Finals.
“From Day One I felt this team could reach the Finals,” Brown said after Monday’s win. “We just had to figure it out and stick together when adversity hit, and it did at different times for all of us.”
Miles McBride’s bargain deal paying off
Guard Miles McBride, the 36th pick in 2021, endured limited minutes and frequent losses until New York shipped out two guards for OG Anunoby in December 2023. That trade cleared room for McBride soon after he had signed a three-year, $13 million extension—now viewed internally as a major value. The 24-year-old will be eligible for another extension this summer.
Towns earns unexpected praise
Karl-Anthony Towns’ defensive effort during the postseason drew compliments from longtime rival Draymond Green. “I’ve never seen Karl-Anthony Towns defend and be as engaged as he is,” Green said on Inside the NBA, noting that the center has largely eliminated the “dumb fouls” that once plagued him.
Finals matchup scenarios
With New York awaiting the Western Conference winner, John Hollinger of The Athletic examined how the Knicks’ dominant playoff run might translate against either Oklahoma City or San Antonio.
The Knicks will open the NBA Finals next week, seeking the franchise’s first championship since 1973.
Source: HoopsRumors
