The biggest change the New York Knicks made last summer was easily at head coach. The franchise brought in Mike Brown after their first Eastern Conference Finals berth since 2000. The pressure was on from the start to at least match Tom Thibodeau's success, if not improve on it. ESPN's Vincent Goodwill, though, says New York will face a similar fate to last year, declaring them incapable of winning the Eastern Conference Finals unless they're playing a team "that shouldn't be there." The writer told Brian Windhorst and Anthony Slater it's because they cannot deal with any adversity at all.
Goodwill says Knicks won't improve on last year's results
The team slumped to the tune of a 2-9 record to ring in the New Year, which they followed up by winning nine of their next ten. However, even their latest overtime loss to the Pacers at home raised red flags for Goodwill, who said that team captain Jalen Brunson's play demonstrated the team's issues.
"The great indicator of being in the playoffs is, how well would you play when things are not going your way? ... The problem with the Knicks is when everything's going right, they can overwhelm you. But when one thing goes wrong, they don't know how to handle the slightest bit of adversity. Like, even Jalen Brunson the other night against Indiana, just went full, 'I'm taking every shot,' like in the last five minutes or so. And he hasn't done that in a long time, because normally he comes up big late so you don't pay much attention to it, but when he's off it's very noticeable," Goodwill told Windhorst and Slater on The Hoop Collective.
The writer also referenced the team's other All-Star, Karl-Anthony Towns, as being a microcosm of the team's play in general. Goodwill said Towns is someone whose highs and lows are both extreme, too.
"When Karl Towns is on, it's very noticeable. When he's off, committing offensive fouls, jumping on people's back, playing the bongos or whatever it is, you see it all. The question is you don't know what to believe because their highs are so high, and their lows are so low," Goodwill opined.
Knicks can win two playoff series, but not three, per Goodwill
Asked by Windhorst if a team like the Knicks can win three playoff series, enough to win the Eastern Conference for a second-straight year, Goodwill's response was simple. He said that they can win two series, but would not win the ECF if they make it.
Several months remain until the playoffs, where the Knicks will hope to prove Goodwill wrong. For now, it's certainly fair to remark that their season has been polarizing with regard to an NBA Cup win, a 2-9 stretch, and a 9-1 stretch happening essentially in succession.
That experience, though, could be exactly what sets the Knicks apart from other groups throughout the ups and downs of a seven-game series. Only time can tell what the Knicks' new-look, post-deadline squad can accomplish.