New ideas and promises of a transformation always sound great in the preseason. The hope of what they can bring is in full abundance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But now all of Mike Brown\u2019s envisioned Knicks changes stop being theoretical \u2014 they come under the spotlight and must become reality.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yes, there were other moves made \u2014 particularly in beefing up the bench. But firing Tom Thibodeau and subsequently hiring Brown is what the Knicks are most relying on to be the catalyst that elevates them into true title contenders.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And the changes Brown intends to implement get their first test against a Cavaliers team most expect to be the biggest obstacle in the Eastern Conference. <\/p>\n
An NBA Finals berth is the bar Brown must meet, considering the Knicks fired Thibodeau after reaching the conference finals.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With the preseason over and the regular season beginning Wednesday night<\/a>, how confident is Brown that he can be the force that brings the Knicks to a new level?\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe good part about it is, the Finals or the championship round doesn\u2019t happen until June,\u201d Brown said after Knicks practice on Tuesday. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a long time to get there. It starts on the daily. We can\u2019t skip any steps.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just wanna keep taking steps, because it\u2019s gonna be a process. Knowing that we might take one or two steps backwards, but hopefully we can regroup and continue to take three, four, five more forward.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Mike Brown during the first half when the New York Knicks played the Minnesota Timberwolves. Robert Sabo for NY Post<\/p>\n The changes Brown wants to bring to the Knicks offense have been well documented. He has placed an emphasis on pace and ball movement<\/a>, a sharp departure to the slower, isolation-heavy offense under Thibodeau.\u00a0<\/p>\n And it wasn\u2019t exactly pretty during the preseason. In the early days, it can be expected that the Knicks will have their fair share of growing pains. But the hope is that it will ease the load on Jalen Brunson and get the periphery scorers more involved.\u00a0<\/p>\n Last year, after making several major offseason moves with the specific goal of competing with the Celtics, the Knicks were humbled by Boston in their opening game of the season. <\/p>\n