Mike Brown’s Success with Small-Ball Lineup

In Charlotte, Mike Brown appears to be thriving as a small-ball starter, a situation that may last until OG Anunoby returns to the lineup.

Recently, the lineup featuring Miles McBride and Josh Hart has enjoyed some solid success, winning easily against both the Nets and the Hornets.

This also translates into Mitchell Robinson coming off the bench due to his ongoing injury concerns and load management issues.

“Everything in this business is constantly changing. I want to remain involved and see where it all leads,” Brown stated. It really feels like anything could happen at any moment.

The current group, including Jalen Brunson, McBride, Mikal Bridges, Jalen Hurts, and Karl-Anthony Towns, seems to have developed good chemistry. It’s worth noting that most of these players have played together for several years, except for Towns.

This lineup is expected to be the fastest and most offensively skilled, at least until Anunoby’s scheduled re-evaluation on Sunday after his hamstring strain.

“When we have a quicker lineup, I can really feel we can speed up the pace and make some stops,” McBride said. “We’ve got players who are eager to defend and then transition to offense. The idea is to know when to find KAT when he makes a move. And with JB, we all know how strong he is. We just build off each other.”

Brunson echoed this sentiment, saying, “There’s certainly some chemistry here.”

Brown mentioned he arrived at this lineup after reflecting on previous mistakes and adjusting through a bit of trial and error.

Looking back, one mistake he pointed out was benching Josh Hart for back-to-back fourth quarters earlier this month. Hart has been getting more playing time recently, which seems to be reflecting positively in his performance.

“I’ll be the first to admit that wasn’t the right choice—benching Hart. He’s been significant for us, and as time has passed, we’ve figured out how to utilize him better, and he’s adapted, too,” Brown noted. “Despite that situation, he didn’t complain or react negatively; he kept believing in the process even when I was clearly in the wrong.”

In a recent game against the Hornets, Mikal Bridges was named Defensive Player of the Game for the second time following a resounding win. This title is awarded by the coaching staff for every victory, regardless of location.

To summarize, here’s a list of the Knicks’ Defensive Player of the Game recipients: Anunoby (2), Hart (3), Bridges (2), Robinson (1), McBride (1), Landry Shamet (1), and Jordan Clarkson (1).