It’s Now NBA Finals Or Bust…
By John Jastremski
Last week, the Knicks finally concluded their head coaching search and decided former Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown will be their guy.
My first reaction to the news was that as a Knicks fan, I felt uninspired.
Look, Mike Brown on paper fits the bill of the sort of coach you’d want leading your team.
There’s no sense of the unknown for a franchise that will have sky high expectations going into next season.
You know what you’re getting with Mike Brown.
He ran a tremendous offense in Sacramento that was as modern as it gets.
He’s taken a team to the NBA Finals before, albeit a team that had LeBron James, but an accomplishment none the less.
In addition, he seems like a tremendous guy. I expect he will do a fantastic job in handling the NY media and what comes with that.
So, you might ask. After what I just detailed, why is the hire uninspiring.
Well, it’s pretty simple to me.
After the Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau, I was expecting the sort of hire that would put me in a position where I feel the team clearly upgraded with their head coach.
No disrespect to Mike Brown, but I for one am not convinced the Knicks hired a better head coach than Thibs.
Thats why I cant share a feeling of elation and excitement when it comes to the hire.
However, the goal is pretty simple for Mike Brown next season.
It’s time to get the Knicks back to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.
Are those unfair expectations to a first year head coach?
In most circumstances, yes. Not with this current Knicks group.
The roster is there, the East is weak and if not now, then when.
Talk about walking into a pressure cooker!
You can listen to my podcast New York, New York on The Ringer Podcast Network every Tuesday & Friday on Spotify/Apple Podcasts. You can watch me nightly on Honda Sports Nite following Mets postgame on SNY.
