A new report suggests that even coaches from rival teams are confused by some of Mike Brown’s decisions with the New York Knicks’ starting lineup.
After winning 51 games and reaching the Eastern Conference Finals last spring, the Knicks made the bold and possibly hasty decision to fire head coach Tom Thibodeau. Feeling that they had gone as far as they could with the veteran coach, he had put in impressive performances under the stewardship of the roster.
When they could have acquired a top coach from another team, the Knicks brain trust chose former Cleveland Cavaliers and Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown to be Thibodeau’s successor. Yet with three games left in the regular season, the team has about the same number of wins as it did a year ago, and there will be more disappointment heading into the NBA Playoffs.
There are questions about the Knicks’ defense and Brown not adjusting his system to get more out of All-Star forward Karl-Anthony Towns. Another issue that has troubled fans and analysts is Brown’s resistance to making changes to the starting lineup when the team is struggling. He left the lineup with Towns and Mitchell Robinson in the front court in November and never returned to it. This is a decision that has confused some people throughout the game.
Rival coach criticizes NY Knicks head coach Mike Brown’s ‘stubbornness’

“It’s championship or bust mode for that team. I don’t know how Mike Brown hasn’t at least given some other lineups a look despite all the troubles they’ve had,” a rival assistant coach told Heavy’s Sean Deveney. “It’s a fine line between having the courage of your convictions and being frankly stubborn about it. They have enough problems. It wouldn’t hurt to be creative and see what that looks like.”
It is not a good thing for Brown that sometimes the possible solutions to some of his conflicts are obvious, yet he is unwilling to admit his mistakes and make changes.
If the Knicks don’t reach the NBA Finals or at least the East Finals, heads are going to be bowed. Certainly, they will try to make major changes to the roster. And team president Leon Rose could be removed. However, while it would be a bad look to fire the head coach for the second consecutive year, Brown continues to give management reason to throw him under the bus if the team disappoints this spring.
#report #fuels #speculation #Knicks #fire #Mike #Brown
