The New York Knicks had a see-saw of a regular season. But every single time they were seemingly between a rock and a hard place, Mike Brown would tell reporters that he felt that the group would ultimately look back and deem the challenges they faced as necessary to any eventual success they achieved.
That drove fans absolutely insane throughout the regular season. Being told after every gutwrenching loss that it was actually exactly where the team wanted to be was painful to many. The Knicks, however, just justified every single word Brown uttered in the direction of adversity helping prepare them for the postseason.
It wasn't until New York fell down 2-1 in the series to the Atlanta Hawks that they really kicked into gear. They went on to win the next three games of the matchup, ending it in six total games. And it's nearly impossible to see the Jalen Brunson-led group win their first series that they were previously trailing without thinking of Brown's words of wisdom.
Brown's title experience shows as recurring quote ages like wine
The Knicks made history by losing two consecutive games to the Hawks by one point, becoming the first team in the NBA to do that in the playoffs. But they responded with two blowout wins – and a third that should count as two separate blowouts just on its own.
When the Knicks were in the midst of their first three-game losing streak, which didn't come until January, Brown seemed to think their learning process was just truly getting started.
"First time all year that we've lost three in a row, so, we're in an area that we're not used to. We've hit a little bit of adversity. I've never been part of a team that has not hit adversity through the course of the year," Brown told reporters.
After New York's Game 5 victory, Brown unknowingly – or very knowingly – ran a victory lap on reporters. The coach discussed the adversity the team faced throughout the season as, in fact, having been essential to their current success against Atlanta.
"They're resilient...you've got to go through some adversity throughout the course of the year to see what you're made of as a group...our guys have been through a lot, and they continue to go through it. But they've been through it as a group, and there's nothing that will deter the group. They're a veteran group that knows what they want and how to go get it, no matter what's in front of them," Brown said.
The end of the coach's quote ended up being prophetic, as his group went on to win the series in harshly decisive fashion in a game that broke halftime records and had a 140-89 final score.
As the Knicks go on to the second round of the postseason for the fourth straight year, only time will tell if Brown – who's been part of four title-winning teams as an assistant – is the guy to lead them over that hump themselves.
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