Sometimes, coaches claim to be oblivious about outside narratives and discourse.
Mike Brown doesn’t. He certainly heard the criticisms and concerns when the Knicks lost three straight and fell to 2-3 on the year.
“We lost three in a row and the world was falling apart around us and that was everyone’s mindset outside of our locker room,” Brown said after Knicks practice Friday. “But our guys stayed here and they knew they weren’t playing well and that if we do the things we’re supposed to do consistently, we’ll figure it out. So never get too high, never get too low, try to stay even-keeled.”
It’s that last part that Brown believes separates good teams from the best teams — consistency.
He has seen his team react the same during the three-game skid as they are on their active three-game winning streak.
“That’s one of my jobs is to help this team understand how great it can be and a big part of greatness is consistency,” Brown said. “There are a lot of talented individuals in this world, forget basketball, even in your guys’ world, but they might not be consistent in their approach or in their work ethic or in this or that, and so they might not be great at their job.
“So as one of the leaders of this team, one of my jobs is to make sure I continue to try to push the group to be consistent in whatever we’re trying to do so we can be great.”
This week will be a good test — they are coming off a statement win over the Timberwolves against some of their old teammates. Next, they face the lowly — and pretty much openly tanking — Nets.
“I don’t even know how Brooklyn’s doing this year,” Hart said Friday. “I don’t know if they’re winning, losing, whatever it is. … If you don’t respect guys in the league, that’s when you’re going to find yourself on the losing column of games you should be winning.”
Hart has conceded one battle with Mitchell Robinson.
“I always went back and forth with Mitch saying I was the best rebounder on the team,” Hart said. “I don’t think I was correct on that one. I’m man enough to say I was wrong. But, man, Mitch is just a freak.”
The Knicks believe they are in “Level 1” of Brown’s new offensive system. What is Level 2?
“Reacting to things,” Jalen Brunson said. “Once we get to the point where we know every single counter to what we’re doing — when you know every single counter, when it comes, I have it. And because I have it and we’re just doing it, you don’t need to make calls. We’re just pointing out our stuff. Once we get to that point, we can talk about the next level.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
