Knicks fans are all left asking the same question entering the season

If Mike Brown can supercharge the New York Knicks' offense like Sam Vecenie thinks he could, what would it do for them?
New York Knicks, Mike Brown, Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns
New York Knicks, Mike Brown, Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns | Sarah Stier/GettyImages

The New York Knicks have the personnel to be one of the best offensive teams in the NBA. With Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns leading the way, it should be very difficult for teams to stop them. Last year, they were fifth in the league in offensive rating (117.3), but Sam Vecenie thinks Mike Brown can take them to another level.

“I think there is a chance that Mike Brown just like, supercharges the offense a little bit with real, modern offensive schemes,” Vecenie said on the Game Theory podcast. “I wanna see a little bit more from that before I just wholly feel great that that’s where it’s gonna be.”

But what would that do for the Knicks?

How much can Knicks offense improve?

With Brown in town, the bench will likely see a lot more playing time. For the past few years, under head coach Tom Thibodeau, the starting unit and top bench guys saw a large bulk of the minutes. Because of that, the Knicks often had their best players on the court more than other teams.

But this season, that may look a bit different, and that’s a good thing. Giving guys like Brunson, Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart a bit more rest will benefit the Knicks in the long run.

However, if that’s the way Brown decides to run things, which seems highly likely, how will the offense end up improving? Well, there’s where Brown comes in.

Part of it could be speeding things up a big. Brunson and Towns are built to thrive in a methodical, slow-tempo approach where they can break down the defense in the pick-and-roll. But if Brown picks up the pace, it could help their bench unit be more effective.

The more offensive possessions the Knicks get, the more points they can put on the board. And guys like Hart and Miles McBride should be able to run the floor very well.

On top of that, Brown could funnel the offense into Brunson and Towns even more, and in an ideal world, Towns’ three-point volume could go up from last year’s numbers.

He took 4.7 threes per game last year, but at his peak, he was taking 7.9 (2019-20). If Brown can get the Knicks (Towns, in particular) to take more threes, their offense would go through the roof.

And if they can be a force on both ends, they could be a tough team to knock out come playoff time.