The New York Knicks have spent years trudging through games with a deliberate, methodical pace under Tom Thibodeau.
That approach brought them stability and playoff appearances but rarely felt electric.
Now with Mike Brown taking over, the Knicks are shifting gears.
They’re pushing the pace in a way fans haven’t seen in a long time, hoping it becomes their new signature.
Mike Brown wants speed to be the new norm
Brown didn’t waste time laying down expectations.
He wants the Knicks to run, play in transition and strike quickly before defenses settle.
It’s a complete departure from Thibodeau’s grinding half-court sets, which often relied on isolation scoring.
The strategy makes sense, especially for a team built around Jalen Brunson, who thrives with movement and options.
A test run in summer league reveals early challenges
Knicks summer league coach Jordan Brink offered insight into the early stages of this transition.
“We’ve communicated foundationally on what we want to do on both sides of the ball,” Brink said, via the New York Post.
He emphasized that a huge part is simply playing fast.
But trying something new doesn’t always come easily.
In their first summer league outing, Brink admitted the Knicks stumbled out of the gate.
Finding the right tempo takes more than words
“I thought it took us a while to get adjusted to the game,” Brink explained.
They practiced with pace all week, only to lose that urgency once the lights came on.
In the first five minutes, they failed to push the ball the way they practiced.
It’s the kind of hiccup you expect when overhauling a team’s style.
Like learning to drive stick after years in an automatic, there will be stalls before smooth shifts.
Depth will be more critical than ever
Running faster also means more wear on key players.
Under Thibodeau, the Knicks could rely on heavy minutes for starters because slow offenses naturally preserve energy.
But if Brown wants this roster flying up and down the court, they’ll need their bench to consistently deliver.
Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele will become crucial cogs.
If New York wants to thrive in this system, scoring bursts from the second unit can’t be optional.
It could pay off big when games matter most
A fast style does more than just rack up points.
It changes momentum and forces opponents to adjust, something that matters exponentially in playoff series.
For years, the Knicks’ half-court grind bogged them down against teams that ran circles around them.
Brown seems determined to flip that narrative, banking on pace to unlock a higher ceiling.
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Plenty of work ahead before it all clicks
This new-look Knicks team might not have the system polished by opening night.
But they’re embracing an identity that suits today’s NBA, where transition buckets and chaos often decide big games.
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