will it lead to more success in the playoffs?

NEW YORK – The New Year is often celebrated as an opportunity for new beginnings. The New York Knicks didn’t capitalize on their chance to turn the defensive page, starting 2026 with a 111-99 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Friday. Despite shooting just 9-of-43 from 3-point range, New York pulled within single digits late in the fourth quarter. Head coach Mike Brown said that they still lost because they did not perform in defense.

“If the shot isn’t falling, where else are we going to hang our hat? It has to be on the defensive end of the floor. And we didn’t do that for most of the game tonight,” Brown told reporters after the game.

After posting the league’s tenth-highest defensive rating at 112.3 in November, the Knicks finished the year at 118.0 in December. That was it 21st in the NBA and more representative of how they played on Friday. After winning Eastern Conference Player of the Month honors in December, star point guard Jaylen Brunson spent his first press conference of the new year explaining his team’s lackluster effort.

“Just us.” he didn’t have tonight. I know that’s a terrible, lame excuse,” the guard lamented, “but we let the shooting affect our overall play.”

The loss was the first game of a back-to-back, with the Philadelphia 76ers coming to town for a game on Saturday night. Whatever the reason for the Knicks’ fiasco on Friday, they won’t have much time to turn it around. What a problem that is Brown and the organization?

Brown is implementing a philosophical change for the Knicks

The Knicks fired their former head coach Tom Thibodeau with a press release stating the organization’s “single-minded focus on winning championships” for its fans. While Thibodeau led the team to its first conference finals appearance in 25 years, the process that got them there was seemingly unacceptable.

Enter Brown, whose experience and willingness to work with the front office was immediately noticed. The coach’s discussions at media day about relieving Brunson of playmaking responsibilities and relying more on his depth was a welcome change for many fans.

Before we drop the game to the Hawks on Friday night, Brown effectively told reporters exactly why he had a microphone. He noted that while some of the team’s recent wins were admirable, they weren’t his win type: sustainable.

“Our guys have — I give them credit, they’ve found ways to win. But at the end of the day, that’s not where we want to be. Or where we want to finish,” explained the coach of the recent victory.

Previously, the Knicks would have likely won Friday’s game. On December 29, 2024, Brunson went 5-23 in 44 minutes against the Washington Wizards, leading New York to a 55-point overtime victory. That boosted the “V” column of the standings, but did it really help the Knicks’ championship hopes?

Brown sees things differently, treating the regular season as his laboratory for conducting experiments designed to help his staff optimize their chances in the postseason. Games like Friday’s represented a potentially inseparable reality of Brown’s methods. When the staff’s focus is on gathering data relevant to postseason activity, less attention is paid to treating every regular season game as a Game 7.

That compromise was appealing to fans over the summer. Is the grass really greener?

The Knicks leave little room for disappointment in the playoffs

Intensity and a daily fervor for any victory have been the foundation of Thibodeau’s tenure as head coach. The 55-year-old coach admitted that winning every game does not carry the same weight, admitting that his team had taken their foot off the proverbial gas.

“It’s human nature, when you have success, you tend to let down a little bit, especially when you’re playing and competing against the best in the world, so it’s human nature to loosen the ropes a little bit from time to time,” Brown said Friday. “Especially if you’re still finding ways to achieve success.”

After the Knicks lost Game 7 to the Indiana Pacers, ending their 2024 season, Thibodeau shared with reporters the wisdom that came from his do-or-die style. He stated that the 29 non-champions are disappointed every season and it is up to each team to ensure that when the year comes to an end, they have no regrets.

For years, Knicks fans bemoaned their situation and could only hope that next year might be different. Many spoke of their desire for a team that wasn’t a perennial contender, but simply made them proud every night. Fans didn’t need the Knicks to be the best. They just wanted a team that was proud to do their best. Thibodeau and Rose delivered it practically every night.

Under Brown, Rose’s Knicks take the long view. They’re developing youth, keeping stars fresh and focusing on the NBA playoffs regardless of Las Vegas performances. If that leads to a title, it’s hard to imagine fans remembering the first loss in 2026.

If not? Fans could go right back to caring about the results more than the process. And they may not be the only people who look back on these losses with regret.