The people have spoken.
Over 3,000 fans voiced their opinion on the New York Knicks’ upcoming season and the state of the franchise. And, as was the case last year, the expectations are sky high from both the organization and the fans.
New York finished last year two wins short of the NBA Finals, fired its coach, hired a new one and has put together the bulk of next year’s roster with a little over a month until training camp begins. Based on the survey results, it feels as if Knicks fans are anticipating yet another season that sees the franchise ending a long drought.
With all that said, let’s get into the results for each question and my thoughts on everything.
How far do the Knicks have to go next season for you to consider it a successful season?
Progress doesn’t always have to be linear, but in the case of the Knicks, who are months removed from their first Eastern Conference finals appearance in 25 years and firing their winningest coach this century, it does.
Over 70 percent of the votes suggest that fans believe New York has to, at least, make the finals. I figured that would be the case. Not only were the Knicks, possibly, a Tyrese Haliburton prayer shot from making it this past season, but the core will have another year under its belt in an Eastern Conference with less legitimate NBA title contenders (in large part due to injuries).
Winning an NBA title is hard. Getting to the finals is difficult, too. Too many factors outside of which team is the best plays into accomplishments of that magnitude. However, as things stand, the Knicks have a lot of things in their favor to be the last team standing in the East.
How confident are you that the Knicks will be the No. 1 seed in the East next year?
I’m actually surprised that “very confident” came in third place. Maybe decades of heartbreak has fans controlling their emotions. That’s understandable.
As we sit here in August, the only team that appears to be on the same level as the Knicks in the East is the Cleveland Cavaliers, who, after an Eastern Conference-leading 64 wins last season, fell short in the second round of the NBA playoffs to the Indiana Pacers. Cleveland did dominate New York during the regular season last year, and maybe that is where some of the cautiousness comes from for Knicks fans.
The Cavaliers have more continuity than the Knicks, and I could see that leading to a better regular-season record if New York takes a bit to find its footing under a new head coach. That said, one of the Cavaliers or Knicks will be the No. 1 seed in the East (barring injuries of course). We’ll see how these two teams match up against one another relatively soon, as they open the season against one another and then play again on Christmas.
Did you agree with the firing of Tom Thibodeau?
Of all the questions on this survey, this result was the one I was most curious about. When talking to fans in-person and online, there seems to be a healthy split when it comes to this question. The results somewhat show the same thing.
Ultimately, I think fans grew tired of Thibodeau’s reliance upon his starters, his lack of experimentation until the Knicks were deep in the playoffs and, well, after five years, people just like change. Do I think Thibodeau deserved to be fired? I don’t. I thought he deserved one more year after all he’s done to help turn New York back into a respectable organization on the court. Do I understand why he got fired? I do.
The decision to fire Thibodeau could be one that either makes the decision-makers look like geniuses or, potentially, sets the franchise back a bit. We’ll find out soon enough.
Did you like the hiring of Mike Brown?
This is somewhat how I thought the result of this question would shake out.
Brown has had a long coaching career that has been met with both highs and lows. He’s respected around the NBA but doesn’t come with the championship pedigree (as a head coach) that I’m sure some fans would have liked after what transpired last season. Brown has a lot of the credentials you’d want from someone running the show, but I’m not sure he’d be considered a “splashy” hire.
Brown and the front office will absorb all of the pressure this coming season. Brown is the only major change from a team that went far last season, and the front office made the decision to change bodies in that first chair. The owner will face pressure, too, but he owns the team. So, is it really pressure? He won’t fire himself.
The veteran coach deserves the benefit of the doubt out of the gate. Brown has accomplished enough in this league to make you believe that, with this team, he could be the voice needed to help the Knicks reach the mountaintop.
Did you like the process the front office took in firing and hiring a new head coach?
Another split across the board for the most part, and I believe this is the proper reaction to this question.
Not everyone was on the same page. And, no, this wasn’t the best cycle to fire an accomplished coach and look for a new head coach. Yet, with those two things said, the Knicks did their due diligence, no matter how funky the process looked.
Now, one could say they were forced to do their due diligence because of how and when Thibodeau was let go. Those people wouldn’t be incorrect. However, given the circumstances, I did think New York turned over a lot of stones to make sure it found what it believes to be the best candidate available.
We’ll find out soon enough if the Knicks’ process led to the results they were looking for.
A year later, do you like the trade for Mikal Bridges?
If the survey was done before the playoffs, I wonder if the results would have had a little more blue…
After being traded for a handful of draft picks last summer, Bridges’ introduction to Manhattan was met with mixed reviews. He struggled at times as the team’s primary point-of-attack defender, and his offensive success was largely reliant upon midrange shooting. Individually, Bridges had a good regular season, but he certainly had pockets where he left fans wanting more.
However, in the playoffs, Bridges made some of the biggest defensive stops in more than one series and hit some big shots here and there, as well. He was always consistent from quarter to quarter during the postseason, but his highs were key in helping the Knicks make the Eastern Conference finals.
Ultimately, New York made the trade for Bridges because it believed he was the missing piece to help the franchise be legitimate title contenders. The Knicks were two wins away from making the finals and Bridges played every game. That’s something.
A year later, do you like the trade for Karl-Anthony Towns?
The Knicks didn’t give up too much to acquire Towns and his lengthy contract, so the results here make sense.
He was one of the 15 best players in the NBA last season, had his most efficient shooting season in three years and, like Bridges, played a big part in the Knicks making the Eastern Conference finals. Towns has his limitations defensively, but everyone knew that when the trade happened. His offense popped despite optimal spacing, and there’s more there for Brown to try and unlock.
As it pertains to Towns, the Knicks need to find out if they can win at the highest level with him playing center primarily or if he needs another traditional, rim-protecting center alongside him. The Timberwolves thought they answered that question and now New York must do it sooner rather than later.
What should be the starting lineup next season?
The fan response here is correlated to what I was talking about above.
Fans, too, feel like pairing Towns with a more traditional, defensive-minded center like Mitchell Robinson is the best way to go in order to maximize this team’s ceiling. Thibodeau switched to the Brunson-Bridges-Anunoby-Towns-Robinson starting lineup halfway through the postseason and while the results weren’t great, they were better than the previous starting lineup. The former lineup played 65 minutes together in the playoffs (which was the 15th most-used lineup in the entire playoffs) and posted a -3.7 net rating. The Brunson-Bridges-Anunoby-Hart-Towns lineup played 335 minutes together (which was the most-used lineup in the entire playoffs) and had a -6.2 net rating.
The starting lineup with Robinson wasn’t used much during the regular season, largely because Robinson missed most of the regular season due to injury. Maybe there is more to unlock there with more time together.
After that, fans appear to prioritize the shooting of Miles McBride as opposed to the connectivity of Josh Hart.
Out of curiosity, if you voted “other” let me know in the comments which starting lineup you want to see.
How many seasons will you give this iteration of the Knicks to win a championship before you panic?
I won’t spend too much time on this result. It makes sense.
Brown and Co. get two years to figure it out from the viewpoint of the fans. That seems reasonable.
Do you still have faith that Jalen Brunson can be the best player on a championship team?
Of all the questions on this survey, this was the one result I was most sure of.
Brunson, yet again, was one of the best 10 players in the NBA. He was the most clutch player in basketball. He had ridiculously good playoff performances. Brunson is the best player on the team and has, maybe more than anyone, been critical to the Knicks’ on-court resurgence in recent years.
The fans love Brunson. Brunson loves the fans. This is a perfect marriage.
Maybe Brunson never brings a title to New York. There are too many factors that impact that result outside of Brunson’s control. And even if he never does, Brunson has proven that, year after year, he is one of the best players in the game.
The case could be made that a team with two limited defenders playing major minutes can’t win a title. That’s understandable. However, to me, that says more about mildly flawed team-building than it does Brunson.
(Photo: Chris Schwegler / NBAE via Getty Images)
