"Fresh off the franchise's best season in a quarter century, the Knicks promptly opted to blow up the leadership by firing coach Tom Thibodeau, who'd brought them to the Eastern Conference Finals. But they kept the roster's key pieces intact and added the sort of bench depth that Thibodeau never had, creating an opportunity for new coach Mike Brown to take them to another level. The Knicks enter training camp with none of the injury woes that have befallen many of their competitors."
"Instead, the biggest challenge for Brown is to live up to the lofty expectations the Knicks carry into this season. But it's not as simple as rolling out the ball. Even with a deep, talented and healthy roster, the Knicks enter the season with a number of questions Brown and the front office will have to answer on the court."
"Thibodeau had his detractors. He was criticized for the minutes load of the Knicks' core pieces, and the lack of playing time for the bench, particularly the rookies, which made the group not very reliable last season. So enter Brown, who has some similar accolades and criticisms in his multiple coaching stops. There is a push for some on-court changes, including talk of a faster-paced system which makes some sense as the Knicks were 26th in pace last season."
After firing Tom Thibodeau, the Knicks retained core players, added bench depth, and hired Mike Brown to build on a franchise-best season and Eastern Conference Finals run. The roster enters training camp healthy, removing injury as a major concern. Brown faces the challenge of meeting elevated expectations while deciding on pace, rotations and bench usage. Thibodeau faced criticism for heavy minutes for core players and limited rookie and bench minutes that reduced reliability. A faster-paced system is under consideration, but any changes must preserve Jalen Brunson as the offensive centerpiece. The coaching staff and front office must resolve rotation and role questions on the court.
Read at Newsday
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