New coach, new expectations: Knicks aim for NBA Finals with Mike Brown

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GREENBURGH, N.Y. (AP) — The Knicks have a new coach and entirely new expectations.

A team that couldn't even make the playoffs before Tom Thibodeau arrived is now one of the favorites to reach the NBA Finals. Mike Brown has inherited what could be the strongest roster in the Eastern Conference.

New York returns all five starters from a team that reached the conference finals for the first time in 25 years before making its surprising coaching change. The Knicks may play differently under Brown but they still sound like a Thibodeau team, focusing only on the work that needs to be done today rather than anything that lies ahead.

“We understand the opportunity that’s in front of us, so we’ve just got to go out there every single day and find a way to get better every single night and give our best version to our fans every single night,” All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns said Tuesday.

Towns was acquired in a blockbuster trade with Minnesota just before training camp opened last year. The big change for the Knicks this summer came with the firing of Thibodeau, who took them to the playoffs in four of his five seasons after they had missed the postseason for the previous seven.

Jalen Brunson blossomed into an All-Star under Thibodeau. He said it was sad to see the firing of a coach he's known much of his life — Brunson's father, Rick, was an assistant and remains on Brown's staff — but will work to make sure the change pays off.

“For me, it’s my job to go out there and just find a way to help this team win,” Brunson said. “There’s different people in this organization with different jobs and different things they have to do to be able to make this team better, and that’s their point of view. So for me, I’m going to do my job to the best of my abilities.”

His role could change, as Brown wants to play faster and perhaps with the ball not in Brunson's hands as much as it was previously. But the Knicks captain said he's open to anything and expects others will be.

“If you want to win, you’ll do it. It’s that simple,” Brunson said.

Brown gets to start his new job ahead of most teams, because the Knicks are playing two preseason games against Philadelphia in Abu Dhabi. After consecutive 50-win seasons, they share the second-best odds to win the NBA title behind defending champion Oklahoma City at BetMGM Sportsbook, ranking just behind Cleveland as the East favorites.

Brown said that means the Knicks have to be focused on every practice “knowing that we have a target on our backs.”

“And when you do have that on your backs, you’ve got to bring your best every time you step on the floor and not just come game time,” he added.

He said he hasn't decided on a starting lineup, after swingman Josh Hart started all season until center Mitchell Robinson was inserted during the loss to Indiana in the conference finals.

Hart, who said he recently aggravated a finger injury that forced him to have an offseason procedure and expects to wear a splint this season, joked that “If I don’t start, I’ll probably ask for a trade.”

“I think I’m a starter in the league. I think I deserve to be a starter in the league, but at the end of the day it’s what’s best for the team,” Hart added. “Whatever Mike wants to do or he doesn’t want to, I’m cool with and time will tell what that is.”

The Knicks talked about the hurt of getting so close last year. They know another chance can be there for them.

“I think every team that doesn’t make it there, or any team that makes it there and loses, has it for fuel,” guard Mikal Bridges said. “But just control what you can control, take it day by day, and you can’t get to June without going through all these other months. So just got to worry about the now and get prepared.”

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