Dylan Backer
The expectations around the New York Knicks have been sky-high this year, with many expecting an NBA Finals appearance at minimum. Right now, they are fighting to get past even the first round against the Atlanta Hawks, and the conversation about potential changes for next year have already begun.
Knicks’ Mike Brown could be on the hot seat following the playoffs
Head coach Mike Brown was brought in this summer to take a team that reached the Eastern Conference Finals last year even further. While they still have a great chance to do so, consistency problems this season have made the Knicks an underdog despite finishing with a 53-29 record and third in the East.
Brown’s head coaching tenure with New York could be very short-lived if the Knicks fall short again. Sam Amick of The Athletic reported that Brown is among the coaches of playoff teams who could be on the hot seat depending on the playoff outcome, with even higher stakes for Brown.
“The noise surrounding the Knicks’ Mike Brown won’t die down unless they reach the NBA Finals, and even that might not be good enough for the first-year New York coach to be safe,” Amick wrote.
The Knicks gave a much longer leash to his predecessor, Tom Thibodeau, as he coached the team for five years before they made the switch to Brown this year. While all the metrics would suggest that they are a better team with Brown at the helm, the question becomes by how much?
Brown has had trouble finding consistency with his group
While they improved on their regular season win total, they were some major lapses this year that didn’t happen under Thibodeau. The 2-9 stretch in January is a good place to start, as that stretch was nearly one that completely altered their season entirely.
Additionally, the slow starts this team was regularly having is a sign of disconnect between players and coach, and it’s easier to point out such a rift when Karl-Anthony Towns struggled throughout the first half of the season and Mikal Bridges has become nearly unplayable in the playoffs.
New York still has to get past the Atlanta Hawks, who have taken two games in their first round matchup, one of which was caused by a big coaching mistake from Brown of giving extended minutes to the bench with Jalen Brunson and Towns both off the floor. Mistakes like that in the playoffs can certainly cost them their job, and the organization is in win-now mode, so the leash may be much shorter this time.
As of now, there is no indication that they will make another head coaching change, but a disappointing finish to the season could change that notion very quickly.
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