Why Mike Brown has Knicks operating without a playbook

Under Mike Brown, preseason is for freestylin’. 

The Knicks coach revealed after Thursday’s victory he has installed zero plays into his offense, preferring the team to learn the principles of his pace and movement by just reading the defense and reacting. 

It’s another departure from Tom Thibodeau, who famously handed players a large playbook during training camp — which Miles McBride once estimated to be five inches thick. 

Brown said his Knicks won’t use plays for the vast majority of the game, so why not learn that part first? 

“We want to play this way most of the time,” the coach said. “We’ll have play calls because we want the ball in this person’s hands at this time and we want this guy here and that guy there. So we will do that. But right now, especially in the preseason, I just want them to be able to get used to playing this basketball and taking what the defense gives them.” 

Perhaps predictably then, the preseason offense has endured some rocky moments, especially in Thursday’s overtime victory against the Timberwolves.

Their 38 points at halftime was hardly the high-octane, high-efficient system pitched by the new coach.

But the Knicks were happy with the generated looks — they missed a glut of open 3-pointers — and the players remain bullish about the process. 

“He just wants to implement playing fast because, honestly, especially the first three quarters, until mid-fourth, you don’t really need plays,” Mikal Bridges said. “You kind of just have concepts and you read and react and it makes it tougher for the defense, honestly, because they don’t know what’s happening because offensively you don’t even know what’s happening because you’re kind of just reading how you’re going to defend it. 

“I think that’s fine. I think when the game starts slowing down in the fourth, the last five minutes, where each possession is a little bit more valuable [you need plays]. But the first three quarters, just going up and down, playing fast, trying to make the right read. I think you don’t really need plays.” 

As a player who thrives off cuts and in transition, Bridges stands to benefit from less structure and it’s shown at times in preseason.

Same with McBride, who is probably the most athletic on the roster and the most impressive through three exhibitions. 

“I feel like at any time a coach can drop a play and you know exactly what to do,” McBride said, “but to be able to read and react to what’s out there — because at the end of the day, he’s on the sideline, so we have to play the way we’ve always been taught. And that’s to move the ball, play the right way, and get guys involved.” 

Will this work? Can you just throw in plays so close to the regular season and expect the team to execute? 

“He’s the coach. If that’s his philosophy, that’s his philosophy,” McBride said. “We’re going to follow it to the best of our ability.” 

Thibodeau, meanwhile, was famously meticulous about his playbooks — including the one for training camp and each playoff round — and preparation.

The vibe around Brown is less structure and more versatility through instinctual basketball. 

The new Knicks coach has also pitched a system with a larger rotation, fewer minutes for the starters and Jalen Brunson playing off the ball. 

Brunson faces the biggest adjustment after dominating the rock the last several seasons. 

“What we’re working on is just the basics of our offense and everything,” Brunson said. “It’s going to take time. It’s not always going to be perfect but it’s all about how we’re going to continue to trust it, continue to learn it. And when things aren’t going well, are we going to revert to who we were in the past or are we going to continue to get better with what’s new to us? So got to continue to trust it.” 

Brown highlighted a play from their two games against the Sixers in Abu Dhabi, where Mitchell Robinson soared for an alley-oop from OG Anunoby.

The space for that highlight jam developed, according to Brown, because Brunson sprinted to a corner on the fast break. 

It was an unofficial assist for Brunson generated off the ball. 

More than any other principle, Brown emphasizes running to corners on offense to space the floor, keeping the paint as open as possible. It’s a top Mike Brown tenet. 

“Because Jalen filled the corner, it flattened the defense, whoever was guarding him was scared that he was going to get a 3-pointer, so they stayed out,” Brown said, “which created the space for OG to get downhill. So little things like that, we look at and we emphasize because those are the great plays that are very small that won’t show up in the stat sheet that are going to make you a great offensive team at the end of the day.”