CHICAGO – Mike Brown still needs another month before he can assess both his team and the rest of the NBA.
“It will take some time,” the coach said. “It’s hard to get a real evaluation in the first five to 10 games. I think you’ve all been in this league long enough. The first month or so and a half everyone feels like they have a chance and the boys are playing hard and committed and sometimes you have teams that are at the top, they’re not going to finish at the top.”
“Because teams are trying to find their way. So we’re not just evaluating [one player]but everyone. Not only the defense, but also the attack. Keep doing that. If it comes to December or late November, we should be feeling pretty good.
The Knicks are adjusting to a new coach but have the benefit of continuity, with the top seven in the rotation returning from last season.
Heading into the Halloween game against the Bulls, they are 2-2 while ranking 24th in offense and seventh in defense.
“I think we’ve been pretty good defensively through certain quarters and parts of the game,” Jalen Brunson said. “We haven’t played a full 48 minutes of offense or defense yet.”
Draymond Green, for example, doesn’t think the Knicks will get it done.
“I just don’t believe they’re contenders,” Green said on his podcast. “I don’t think they have what it takes to win at the highest level. I think you can stifle their offense. And make it difficult for them. And I just think guys who don’t want to defend ultimately make it difficult to win at the highest level.”
Green did not specify any players, but it is difficult not to separate these comments from his open disdain for Karl-Anthony Towns, who has often been criticized for his defense. Last season, Green accused Towns of feigning an injury to avoid playing Jimmy Butler. In reality, Towns attended the funeral of a family friend.
As Josh Hart struggled to shoot after injuries to his finger and back, his good friend and teammate Brunson suggested he block out the criticism.
“One thing he does, when he’s locked in and working on everything and focused, he’s a different Josh and you’ve seen that,” Brunson said. “Coming back to that, we just don’t listen to the outside noise. The fans are talking or whatever and it’s impossible not to see it, but who cares? People will say what they want to say regardless of whether we play well or not.”
Through three games, Hart is averaging just 3.7 points on 22 percent shooting overall and 11 percent on three-pointers.
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