He breathed a sigh of relief behind a smile in the wake of Mike Brown’s debut as head coach of the New York Knicks. Trading Tom Thibodeau and starting the season with summer expectations for the first time in decades, the Browns needed a smooth start.
“Good first win, knowing we have a lot of room to grow,” Brown said following the Knicks’ season-opening win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
One thing after another has changed over the past year inside Madison Square Garden, starting in September 2024 with the shock trade of Julius Randle to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Karl-Anthony Towns on the eve of training camp. (Randall returns to New York for the second time on Wednesday; 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.)
So far, only winger Mikal Bridges seems quite comfortable in a Browns system that prioritizes ball movement and faster tempo. Bridges, who is averaging career highs in field goals and 3-point percentages, looks like a different player from the one who was uncertain in his first season as a Knick and no longer feeding off the gravity created by All-Stars Jalen Brunson and Towns.
But what the Knicks represent as a whole remains a mystery. The Browns’ new system still looks like a herculean effort at times, leading to a bottom-10 finish through seven games. Meanwhile, Towns is finding his footing in the Browns’ offense after New York’s first NBA season under Thibodeau.
But opening night marked a significant change from last season. Prior to their second-round win over the defending champion Boston Celtics, the Knicks went 0-8 against the top two teams in the East last season. The win over the Cavaliers was a sign that they have the potential to lead the pack in a conference devoid of a truly dominant team. Based on the first few weeks of action in New York, where do the Knicks stand in this endeavor? Could injuries get in the way?
Let’s examine what’s new, what’s working, and what’s still a work in progress as the new-look Knicks continues their recent evolution.
-Vincent Goodwill
What do scouts and executives see in New York?
Considering that it took the Knicks more than a month to name Brown as Thibodeau’s replacement — and that was after several failed attempts to land contract candidates with other teams — it shouldn’t be a huge surprise that the adjustment process between the coach and his players took time. Brown was the best option available, but he wasn’t the perfect choice. As the Knicks navigate these waters early in the season, there have been some choppy seas to contend with over seven games.
“A lot of it takes a long time to figure out the crime,” an East executive told ESPN.
The adjustments start with All-Star big man Towns, who notched a season-high 33 points on Monday against the Washington Wizards, but shot a somewhat shocking 40.8% from the field, roughly 8% lower than any season during his 10 years in the NBA. He raised eyebrows just before the season, when he announced he didn’t yet know his role in the Browns’ offense, and proceeded to work his way into the new system in the opening weeks.
“He’s definitely had a clear role under (Thibodeau), and he’s made it clear he’s not overly excited about his lack of role right now,” one Western Conference scout said.
Josh Hart, once synonymous with Thibodeau’s strict regimen, regularly played huge minutes (at least 40 minutes in 23 regular-season games last year) as a crucial piece in New York’s run to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Now, Hart is adjusting to a full-time bench role while playing through a nerve issue in his right hand resulting from an aggravation of a finger injury he initially suffered in May.
Similar concerns surround center Mitchell Robinson, who has a lengthy injury history and has already been relegated to a load management plan to try to get him through the regular season and playoffs. Since the start of the 2023-2024 season, Robinson has played just 50 games.
Every time he falls to the floor in pain — like he did during Sunday’s win over the Chicago Bulls, where he appeared to tweak his ankle in what looked like an innocuous play — there’s a collective holding of breath among Knicks fans, given the impact Robinson has on the team in terms of rim protection and rebounding perspective when he’s available.
“The system stuff is going to be OK,” one Eastern Conference scout told ESPN. “But do they have the legs to get there in the end? A lot of that is down to Mitchell Robinson and Josh Hart being healthy.
“Those guys, their overall fitness level every night, is really important.”
But despite all that, the Knicks still reside in the East. For all the holes that can currently be put in place before the season as favorites to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time this century, who should replace them?
The other preseason favorite, the Cavaliers, has its own rash of injuries to deal with. The Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks, the trendy picks to finish the season in the top four behind New York and Cleveland, also stumbled out of the gate. When we asked several sources around the university in recent days who would take control of New York to escape the East, no one could provide a definitive answer.
“They’ll be able to get by, and they’ll win a bunch of games because of the talent, but there’s a lot more drama than I think they thought there would be the first week of November,” the Western Conference scout said.
— Tim Bontemps
What do the numbers say about the Knicks’ new look?
Lots of 3s for Knicks…
The most noticeable change in the Knicks’ approach is their shot distribution, as they have relied on the 3-pointer more than ever under Thibodeau.
New York ranked 28th in 3-point attempt rate last season, but in 2025-26, it has the fifth-highest 3-point attempt rate, with 48% of its shots coming from beyond the arc. Only the Cavaliers, Celtics, Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns — who all ranked among the top three happiest teams last season — had more 3s as a percentage of their total attempts than New York.
Interestingly, other than centers Robinson and Ariel Hochborty, the two lowest three-pointer attempt rates on the team belong to Towns (35% of his shots) and Brunson (37%), meaning the Knicks’ players are all essentially spaced around the stars.
As a team, the Knicks made 36.9% from 3s last season, and are up to 36.5% so far in 2025-26. But the increase in tries meant they jumped from 24th by three points to tied for third.
…and their opponents
The same dynamic also played out on the defensive end, where New York allowed the sixth-fewest three-point attempts last season but gave up the fourth-highest this season; 46% of their opponents’ attempts came from beyond the arc.
New York doesn’t allow more 3’s because it made a more concerted effort to close down the rim. Instead, her opponents converted a portion of their lower-value mid-range attempts into higher-value 3-pointers. And these opponents are taking advantage of those extra attempts, as they are making 39.6% of their 3-point attempts, the second highest rate in the NBA.
There could certainly be a caveat in the timeline for that fact because the Knicks have already played the Cavaliers and Celtics, who rank first and second in 3-point attempt rate, while facing no team that ranks near the bottom of the league. But it will be worth watching to see if the Knicks’ defense can do a better job of stopping the 3-point flood as the season goes on.
Brunson has less control over the ball
On an individual level, no one controlled the ball more than Brunson last season. According to GeniusIQ tracking, he led the league with 524 dribbles per game, 8.8 minutes of possession per game, and 6.1 seconds per touch.
But this season, Brunson’s possession numbers are down across the board; These numbers dropped to 431 dribbles and 7.7 minutes and 4.8 seconds respectively.
A related change is the significant reduction in Bronson’s selection frequency. According to GeniusIQ, he handled the ball with 55 picks per 100 possessions last season, the second-most in the NBA behind Trae Young. But he ranks just 12th among high-volume ball handlers this season, with 43 picks per 100 possessions, as the Browns try to democratize the offensive load.
More deliveries
The handoff was one of the most obvious stylistic markers of the Sacramento Kings’ offense under Brown, and the Knicks have followed suit under their new coach. They ranked 14th with 23 handoffs per 100 possessions last season, according to GeniusIQ, but have moved up to first place with 43 handoffs per 100 this season.
Brown’s Kings teams used handoffs more often because of offensive center Domantas Sabonis, who led the league individually for five straight years. But it represents a team effort for New York, which is using all kinds of deliveries to start its sets.
Towns and Bronson’s handoff rates have doubled compared to last season. Mikal Bridges has approx quadrupled Delivery rate. New senior reserve Guerschon Yabusele has joined the action, and Robinson is setting a career-high in turnovers through two games.
As part of their greater focus on participation, the Knicks jumped from 18th in assists per game last season to fifth in 2025-26.
Bad luck in archery
One might expect greater diversification to lead to better results for New York, but the Knicks are just 4-3 with a 12th-place offense after finishing last season with 51 wins and a 5th-place offense. However, there is absolutely no reason to panic, as the Knicks will likely move up the standings once their luck starts to turn.
According to a GeniusIQ data analysis, the Knicks underperformed their “expected” point total based on shot quality and shooter identity by 47 points, while the Knicks’ opponents underperformed their expected point total by 45 points. Basically, they were unlucky at both ends. Their margin of 92 points based on shot luck is the largest ever in the league. (The second-worst gap belongs to the 1-6 Indiana Pacers, at -62 points.)
–Zach Cram
