In just four weeks of action, it already appears as though head coach Mike Brown has upgraded this New York Knicks team for the better, and some of the game's biggest analysts are absolutely enamored as a result.
During a recent episode of The Kevin O'Connor Show, the eponymous host was found gushing over the tremendous differences seen between this year's Knicks team and last year's, specifically noting the "dramatic difference a coaching change can make."
In his assessment, O'Connor highlighted the club's uptick in production in a number of key areas, such as catch-and-shoot triples, drives, and passes, where they've improved from 27 to second, 16 to six, and 23 to five in the league's ranks, respectively.
Knicks have clearly leveled up their play with coaching shakeup
The improvements found on this Mike Brown-run Knicks team are not merely relegated to these aforementioned statistical categories, however.
In fact, there are a bevy of areas of the game fans can find positive differences between this year's squad and the one previously led by old-school headman, Tom Thibodeau, particularly on the offensive side of the ball.
As things currently stand, they are up from 27 to three in three-point attempts per game, 24 to seven in attacking closeouts, and 15 to six in second-chance points.
Arguably the biggest improvement made with this new-era Knicks club is the production and utilization found within their second unit.
Throughout his coaching tenure, Thibs-run teams have grown a reputation for being heavily reliant on their starting lineups and, in turn, less on their bench depth.
Brown has seemingly pulled a 180 with this New York second unit, as they've gone from dead-last in minutes (12.0), points (18.8), field goal attempts (16.2), and rebounds (8.8) per game during the first 13 games played in 2024-25 to, now, 17.4 minutes, 35.9 points per game, 28.5 field goal attempts, and 14.4 rebounds during this same span in 2025-26.
As noted by the veteran pundit and show guest, Ariel Helwani, New York has become more of a run-and-gun team this season, which has directly contributed to its increase in offensive efficiency.
To O'Connor, these differences in the Knicks' on-court approach should be viewed as an "overall positive," and he believes that while the statistical numbers may wind up looking similar come season's end, once the playoffs come around, these "layers" added to the offense are likely to pay off in a significant way.
Considering they were two wins shy of the NBA Finals last May, these improvements should be truly exciting for Knicks fans.