PHILADELPHIA — It seemed like a throwaway comment at the time, but it’s the perfect encapsulation of how Mike Brown has the Knicks on the front foot.
When asked how the 76ers might adjust to the Knicks playing without OG Anunoby in Game 3, Nick Nurse said, “I guess I gotta see what happens, which way they go.”
Throughout these playoffs, it’s been Brown who is dictating things, and opposing coaches who are reacting and trying to keep up.
Brown used the regular season to experiment — a major departure from his predecessor, Tom Thibodeau — and it is paying major dividends in the postseason.
Mike Brown talking with Josh Hart during the Knicks’ Game 2 against the 76ers. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post The Knicks have been nimble in making needed adjustments, whether with the rotation or with scheme.
The biggest adjustment has been with the offense. Midway through the first round, the Knicks began running their offense through Karl-Anthony Towns at the elbow. It allowed Jalen Brunson to play off the ball and set screens for his teammates. It gave OG Anunoby more freedom as a cutter, rather than having to stand in the corners for kickout 3s. It brought the best out of Towns and his playmaking ability.
In the first round, Quin Snyder tried to combat the new offense by having Dyson Daniels guard Towns instead of Brunson. It was a complete failure, and he quickly abandoned the plan.
“I feel like the real change for us came before Game 4 in Atlanta,” Towns said Saturday. “I think that’s when we really changed our offense. It’s been great. It’s been something I’ve talked about for a lot of the season, to feel like we can help our guys more. We made the right moves. [Brown] set the table for us to have this kind of run.”
And in this second-round series, the Knicks decided to completely target Joel Embiid, when he’s playing and on the floor, in pick-and-rolls to expose his lack of mobility. Nurse and the 76ers have had no answer for it.
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On the defensive end, Brown and his staff — in collaboration with the players — have made huge impacts on the game with their matchup decisions. The move to have Josh Hart guard CJ McCollum completely neutralized McCollum and changed the course of the first round. In Friday’s 108-93 Game 3 win over the 76ers, they at times shifted Mikal Bridges onto Paul George, who torched them for 15 points in the first quarter and then went scoreless and 0-for-9 from the field the rest of the way.
Nurse and the 76ers had no successful countermove to get George going the final three quarters.
“It was the perfect time for all of us to really get on the same accord,” Towns said. “There’s no better time to be playing your best basketball than right now. So shout out to Mike and really the whole coaching staff for putting us in the best position to succeed.”
New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) and New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) double team Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) in the fourth quarter of Game 4. Jason Szenes for the New York Post Even before the Knicks played without Anunoby in Game 3, the rotation looked different than expected. Jose Alvarado, who appeared to be out of the playoff mix when the postseason started, now has regular minutes. It was a tweak Brown felt was needed to have a more natural point guard on the floor rather than having Miles McBride or Landry Shamet handling that responsibility.
It meant Shamet was buried on the bench, a major departure from the key role he played in the regular season. But, without Anunoby in Game 3, there he was, providing a huge lift with 15 points in 26 minutes Friday. It didn’t matter that he had basically been on ice since early in the first round. He stayed ready.
“When guys are engaged like that 24/7 throughout the course of the year,” Brown said, “it bodes well for the environment, for the culture and guys are actively trying to keep their mind present because when they get an opportunity, they want to perform well.”
It’s part of a culture of professionalism Brown has established where there are contributions up and down the roster. Every coach talks about players being ready for when their number is called. For the Knicks — because Brown gave them all a chance in the regular season — it’s actually reality.
“As a coach, you love to see it,” Brown said. “That’s why you give different guys opportunities at different times. Sometimes, you start Landry. Sometimes, you start Mo. Sometimes, you start this guy. And what hopefully it shows at the end of the day coming from me is that I have confidence in them, and not only that, your number can be called any time, so be ready. And our guys have taken that to heart. We’ve got a lot of good guys that are resilient. They’re fighters. And they’ve done a good job of keeping their mind on staying present in whatever we’re doing, and it’s showing when they go out there and get the opportunity.”
Whether with schematics or rotation, Brown is pressing the right buttons.
And it has the Knicks surging at the perfect time.
