The New York Knicks are currently undergoing a major philosophy change this season, but that hasn’t had any ill-affect on Jalen Brunson.
This offseason, the Knicks let former head coach Tom Thibodeau go after five very successful seasons with the team. The Knicks made the playoffs four times during his tenure, and reached the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000 last season.
Nonetheless, Thibodeau was let go after the season. The team then hired Mike Brown weeks later, who brings in a completely different coaching style than Thibodeau’s hard-nosed defensive-minded ways.
The Knicks offense in general has struggled to start the season, which shouldn’t come as a surprise given the stark differences in schematics.
Brunson still performing strong despite the coaching change
Jalen Brunson has seen no issue so far in the early going despite that, averaging 31.8 points per game on 48 percent shooting from the floor through the team’s first four games. After the Knicks’ loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, Brunson — who scored 36 points in the effort — spoke about the differences that playing in Mike Brown’s system has offered so far, despite some shoddy results offensively as a team.
“There's gonna be times where things aren't going one of our ways,” Brunson said. “It's on us as teammates to have his back. We're not gonna use it as an excuse for a long time. It's still fresh for us.”
Brunson and the Knicks will look to right the ship later this week when they take on the undefeated Chicago Bulls in a Halloween matchup on Friday.
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