Champions with Unfinished Business: Knicks Pulse Check Part III

After the confetti finished dropping on center court and the trophy presentation was completed, New York Knicks captain Jalen Brunson was asked what he learned about his team during their NBA Cup championship run.

His response: “We got down 10 or whatever it was, and we found a way to win. That’s going to be our motto going forward: we’re going to find a way.”

The Knicks overcame multiple double-digit point deficits on their way towards beating a promising young San Antonio Spurs team headlined by Victor Wembanyama. Their performance featured Mike Brown’s impressive new offense whilst also preserving the grit and resilience that fans have come to know and love from teams of the past.

This recent 10-game stretch started with Giannis trade rumors, ended with a Christmas Day victory at the Garden, and sandwiched in between was an NBA Cup victory. At the 30-game mark, the orange and blue rank fourth in offensive rating (down one spot from our last check-in), 14th in defensive rating (same spot from our last check-in), and 5th in net rating (down one spot from our last check-in).

And although adding some hardware to the trophy case is nice, this Knicks team still has some meat on the bone to clean off. Despite the Knicks being 8-2 over their last 10 games, during that stretch, they’ve ranked 17th in defensive rating, 24th in opponents three-pointers attempted, and 24th in opponents second-chance points.

To that point, during his post-game press conferences, Mike Brown has also talked about starting games better on the defensive end. He estimated that the Knicks are giving up 33-34 points during first quarters — a trend that needs to change.

For a team that is still very much figuring things out on the defensive end, it’s hard to underscore just how important Mitchell Robinson is to the Knicks. Mitch’s offensive rebounding and rim protection have almost single-handedly kept the Knicks from being a bottom-half defensive team for most of this season.

Robinson currently ranks 1st in offensive rebounds per game and 8th in total offensive rebounds. He creates more possessions for his team and, as a result, it’s no surprise that the Knicks rank 2nd in second-chance points.

The flip side of the Mitch discourse has always been that despite his dominance on the boards, you can’t play him extended minutes during the fourth quarter due to poor foul-shooting. At one point during this season, Robinson was shooting below 20 percent from the stripe, and you could see the stress and anxiety on his face every time he stepped to the line.

However, after recently converting 11 of his last 15 free-throws, Mitch is now shooting 40 percent from the free-throw line.

Mike Brown recently credited shooting coach Peter Patton for working with Mitch, and simultaneously, also shouted out Robinson for his buy-in, working on his free-throw shooting before games. If Mitch can somehow convert 50-60 percent of his free-throws, that drastically changes how defenses can play him.

Prior to the start of this season, Tyler Kolek, similar to former lottery-pick Frank Ntilikina, became a polarizing figure amongst the Knicks fanbase. Ntilikina flashed moments of brilliance during his Knicks tenure, which often prompted his supporters to advocate for more playing time for the frenchman. Fans of both players often discredited their coaches for holding them back and not realizing their talent.

But unlike Frank, who has been out of the NBA for some time now, Kolek seems to have found solid ground in Mike Brown’s rotation. And whether it’s primarily due to injury or not, Kolek is taking advantage of his opportunity.

During the championship game of the NBA Cup, Kolek logged 20 minutes, while scoring 14 points, and adding five rebounds and five assists. The second-year guard out of Marquette was a +14 on the night. The best part was that Kolek wasn’t done playing the role of hero. On a Christmas day matchup versus the Cleveland Cavaliers, Kolek dropped 16 points (11 points in the fourth quarter, including two huge threes) and added nine assists in what was probably the signature performance of his career thus far.

After the game Kolek talked about his rising confidence and that he enjoys being coached “hard” by Mike Brown. Clearly Kolek has earned Brown’s trust, which will force the head coach to make some tough decisions when both, Deuce McBride and Landry Shamet return from injuries.

As a fan of the game and as someone who tries to learn as much about basketball strategy and tactics as I can, Mike Brown has been a breath of fresh air at the podium both during his pre and post-game press conferences.

If you listen to him enough, he’s very consistent with the types of things he praises and criticizes from his team. For example, on defense, Brown routinely talks about “leading with your chest” when it comes to guarding opposing players. He’s praised players like Deuce and Shamet for leading with their chests, and conversely has challenged players like KAT for leading too much with his hands, which has caused him to get into foul trouble, especially early in games.

Offensively, specifically after losses, Brown has talked about not wanting his team to “walk” into their pick-and-roll actions. Essentially it’s about playing with a better half-court pace, which enables the Knicks to set more effective screens and keep defenses off balance.

After the Knicks won the NBA Cup, there was a lot of chatter about whether they should hang a banner at MSG. Personally, I’m glad they didn’t. Since the beginning of the season, neither the players nor coaching staff have shied away from the organization’s championship aspirations.

Per NBA stats, the Knicks are currently 6-6 in “clutch” games. It’s the attention to the details, especially on the defensive end, that can improve this current mark. However, it’s a testament to the Knicks that, without players like Deuce and Shamet, they’ve found a way to win when tasked with overcoming multiple double-digit deficits.

As we get into the teeth of this NBA season, the Knicks need to continue to build on this new found resiliency that was birthed during the NBA Cup championship game. That night, the logos on the shirts and hats may have said “Champions,” but Jalen Brunson and his teammates know that title is best saved for a date in June.

Whatever obstacles lay in their path, they’re going to find a way.