The New York Knicks beat the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night, but that didn't stop Mike Brown from letting his players have it after the game. The team's internal "Defensive Player of the Game" award was given out after every single win thus far, until the coach refused to name one after the 110-107 win.
Brown told reporters after the game that he needed to call two timeouts in the first six minutes solely because his players were not executing with close to appropriate levels of focus or physicality. The coach added that it's not too late to change the starting lineup, and he'd be open to it if needed. He was brought in to fine tune the Knicks' process, but seems to think the team's biggest problem has nothing to do with schematics. That's a problem with only 13 games left until the playoffs.
Knicks are running out of time to experiment, find the answers they need
Brown signed up to be in an immensely difficult situation, joining a team fresh off of its best season in 25 years. Just a few months into that first season, the expectation was clearly set by the organization that, in his first year, he's expected to guide the team to their first NBA Finals appearance in 27 seasons.
The coach has taken advantage of the lower-stakes environment the 82-game regular season provides, conducting experiments with different lineups and schemes throughout their games thus far. But with the playoffs less than a month away, it's time for the Knicks to decide just how many more questions they're going to ask. They need to start deciding what their answers are going to be for the test that presents itself from April to as late as June, if they're lucky.
The Knicks can't afford to be asking questions of their physicality, overall level of focus, or desire to win once the postseason arrives. Jalen Brunson has told New York reporters before that anyone that needs more motivation to win in the playoffs is in the wrong business.
But the Knicks haven't necessarily shown a consistent level of tenacity this season. They're getting buy-in on both ends of the floor from Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, and several other key players. Will it last? Brown wouldn't know. Only the players do, and they have to show it on the court.
New York is the right group to bet on to put it together (and soon)
New York showed last season that fans can't necessarily depend on their regular season results when trying to predict what's going to happen in the playoffs. The Knicks did not look good against the Detroit Pistons, who beat them in three of four games. That didn't matter in the first round of the postseason, when the Knicks ended their season in six games.
The Knicks also struggled massively against the Boston Celtics in last year's regular season. Their 0-10 record against them, the OKC Thunder, and the Cleveland Cavaliers likely factored into the team's offseason decision to chase a higher ceiling at the risk of their floor. But New York was able to flip the script again in the playoffs, beating the Celtics 4-2.
They can do it again this season, if they start building momentum now. Even though they beat Golden State, and the Indiana Pacers on St. Patrick's Day, Brown clearly hasn't loved the ways in which they've achieved those victories.
A win streak could give the Knicks the boost they need, but a process-streak (for lack of better terminology) would be much more important. That's the hurdle they have to clear to win a title.