Without OG Anunoby, Mike Brown is thinking small now

WhenAnd the Anunobi hamstring injuries On November 14, Mike Brown did not revolutionize his top five and continued to rely on the duo Mitchell Robinson – Karl-Anthony Towns in the racket, preferring to integrate Landry Shamet in the backfield next to Jalen Brunson. however, injury to the former Clippers player seems to have made the Knicks coach rethink his plans.

During his team’s last two outings against the Nets and Hornets, he actually turned to the lower five by starting both Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart etc Miles McBridethree players who do not exceed the mark of 1m95.

“I feel like when we have a faster top five, we speed up the game and make defensive plays. analyzes Miles McBride. “We have guys who want to defend, who stop and who run. Then we distribute the ball well. When KAT has the hot hand, we try to get him the ball. Obviously, Jalen Brunson is dominant and then we all feed off of that.”

This desire to share the ball was noticeable during the great success against Charlotte (129-101) where all five had more than ten points at halftime. The meeting in which Josh Hart showed himself especially with 22 points, which is his highest total this season, along with 8 rebounds and 7 assists.

Eyes on the NBA Cup

“I’m the first to admit that benching him in the fourth quarter wasn’t a good idea because he’s doing a lot of good things.” Admit Mike Brown. “As time goes on, we start to understand better how to get him to play and he feels better. He could have moaned or complained, but he didn’t.”

If the Knicks just won two games against the bottom of the Eastern Conference, Mike Brown will have a chance to test the reliability of the Big Five this Friday against the Bucks, a matchup that could mark a comeback Giannis Antetokounmpo. More broadly, in case of victory, the players of the “Big Apple” could seal their ticket to the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup.

“Yes, we are talking about the NBA Cup.” does not hide the coach of New York. “Pressure is a privilege in life. That’s why you try to create it every now and then, because if there’s a situation where you’re under pressure, it means you’re doing well. If you’re a competitor, you’re going to put pressure on yourself no matter what. Being able to feel it helps us prepare for the playoffs, that’s why I talk about it with the guys.”