Though the outrage that followed the New York Knicks' unceremonious firing of head coach Tom Thibodeau earlier this offseason may have been warranted, there were certainly a number of flaws found within his approach to the game.
Perhaps the most notable was the veteran headman's reluctance to expand his rotations and utilize his reserves in an appropriate manner.
Throughout his professional coaching career, Thibodeau has built a reputation for riding his starters into the ground with high-end usage.
Though some have made arguments to dispute this narrative over the years, the fact that three of his players ranked in the top six in minutes per game averages this past season, with all five of his regular starters placed within the top 25, definitely didn't help his case.
Now, with Thibs out and Mike Brown in, the hope is that fans will begin to see more of a willingness from New York to dip into their bench unit on a far more consistent basis.
Based on the looks of things, this game plan ultimately becoming a reality appears to be quite likely.
Knicks fans should see deeper rotation with Mike Brown leading the way
After spending six seasons shadowing Steve Kerr during his tenure as a Warriors assistant coach from 2016 to 2022, Brown has seemingly adopted the "strength in numbers" philosophy that has aided in Golden State's success over the years.
With this, it should come as no surprise that in his first year following his departure from the Bay Area, he led the Kings to their only playoff appearance in 19 years while having 10 of his players regularly log double-digit minutes per game on what was then regarded as the most efficient offense in NBA history.
Though he may have lasted less than three seasons in Sacramento, his commitment to deep rotations remained consistent throughout his time at the helm.
Now, in his first season with the Knicks, this approach should be expected to remain the same, especially when considering the talent upgrades Leon Rose and company made to their reserves.
From the signings of Guerschon Yabusele and Jordan Clarkson to minimum-scale salaries in free agency to the expected next steps taken by promising sophomore Tyler Kolek, New York clearly has the makings of being far more productive than their bench squad that ranked 27 in field goal percentage (43.5), and dead-last in both points (21.7) and minutes per game (12.7) a season ago.
Heading into the season, the hope is that Brown will use this improved depth to his advantage.