As the old saying goes, if you're not getting better, you're getting worse. For the New York Knicks, it seems they may be adopting this mentality heading into their title-defense season to pick up their pace of play.
At least, that's what new big man Andre Drummond may have recently suggested.
While speaking about his preparation for coming aboard the reigning champion's roster this summer, the veteran admitted he flat-out asked coach Mike Brown what, in particular, he should work on ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.
Drummond revealed that the headman told him that the main thing he wanted him to do was to come into the season "in shape," telling him to "run" a ton during his summer workouts.
Though having good cardio is undoubtedly an important attribute for any NBA player, the fact that this was the number one priority for coach Brown could be seen as a hint that the Knicks are planning to speed things up a bit this coming season, which, frankly, would be a breath of fresh air compared to their approach to their play over the last several years.
Knicks have been one of slowest teams in NBA over the past few years
Instead of embracing the uptempo style of play that this modern-day NBA seems to prioritize, New York has personally gone against the grain and slowed things down.
Since the start of the Jalen Brunson era back in 2022, the Knicks have consistently ranked in the bottom six in pace of play, with last season marking their highest placement yet during his tenure at 25.
However, this past postseason, New York may have learned, in the best way possible, just how beneficial it can be for their on-court production to speed up their play.
It should come as no surprise that throughout their dominant 16-3 playoff run that ultimately culminated in an NBA Championship, they led all teams in fastbreak points with 16.8 per game.
Getting ahead of the competition is certainly something that stands to benefit a team's offensive approach, and, clearly, the Knicks have the kind of talents to do so, with the likes of Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Jalen Brunson all boasting highly impressive levels of quickness.
This is why coach Brown was trying to emphasize transition offense early on in his debut season with the club.
Now heading into his first season with the ball club, Drummond, along with the rest of the team, may very well find himself on the run far more often than in recent years, which is an exciting proposition for the reigning champs.
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