The New York Knicks' coaching change was their biggest move of the entire offseason. Swapping out Tom Thibodeau for Mike Brown was certainly risky. But the organization took the leap of faith with the 55-year-old head coach because they seemingly believed in his process despite the results that Thibodeau was able to deliver, such as last year's Eastern Conference Finals berth. Despite some major slumps, the numbers say Brown has delivered the higher ceiling the Knicks wanted, even if it's coming at the cost of the team's floor.
Brown delivering higher ceiling, lower floor as Knicks wanted
Going into their Tuesday night showdown against the Toronto Raptors, the Knicks' record against the NBA's six best teams was 14-9. Last year, it was 10-20 over the course of the final regular season under former head coach Tom Thibodeau, according to Newsday's Steve Popper.
The Knicks' 9-7 record against the six-best teams in the Eastern Conference is certainly better, thus far, than last year's 6-12 result. Despite big-time losses to the Detroit Pistons (three, to be exact), New York is performing better on the season overall against top opponents both in and out of conference.
Where the Knicks have taken a big hit under Brown is in contests against teams in play-in position. Popper pointed out that these Knicks are 10-9 against such teams, while last year's team dominated those matchups and took a 15-8 record in them to the postseason.
The head coach will always say that he isn't signing up to lose, but hints heavily that he's willing to make trade-offs that coaches in desperate search of wins might not if it means that he has as much information about his roster as possible by the postseason.
Ultimate test for Brown, and the roster, will be the playoffs
This trade-off is exactly what the Knicks seemed to have wanted out of their coaching change. The benefits of Thibodeau were well-documented and easily observable from the team's stark turnaround since the beginning of the decade. But there was seemingly a ceiling on the group that only a new voice could help them surpass.
Whether or not Brown has the right ideas, or has that voice, will be revealed throughout the championship run that he was tabbed to lead. The team has high expectations, stemming from both external and internal sources, and the coach has acknowledged them as part of the justification for his salary.
The fact of the matter is that Knicks governor James Dolan would likely pay Brown whatever it took to help his Knicks win a championship, and will see his salary (and eating the rest of Thibodeau's deal) as worthwhile if New York's roster can get the job done.