New York Knicks
Face of the Franchise
Close games have become a rarity under Mike Brown’s Knicks
Source: https://www.postingandtoasting.com/...s-nba-mike-brown-clutch-brunson-tom-thibodeau
It is estimated by the IUCN that there are nearly 16,000 species of animals that are either endangered or critically endangered. Endangered species are a tragic occurrence in the wild that can be caused by a variety of factors. Many species have been driven to the brink or even gone totally extinct due to environmental effects, natural causes in the wild, or, the most common cause over the last 500 years, human interference.
Whether it’s poaching, deforestation, or any other factor that causes a population to dwindle, there have been many species that see their populations dwindle due to man-made causes. But while the most common use of the word “endangered” is regarded in the wild, it can generally be used for any particular thing that is in danger of being wiped out.
So what does any of this have to do with the Knicks? Well, one thing that is “endangered” regarding the Knicks is something that was their bread and butter a year ago. No, it’s not the slow pace or challenges, but rather close games. Last year, the Knicks would play 31 games designated as “clutch” games, and those games would generate a bunch of iconic moments for Jalen Brunson, boosting him to winning the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year.
But in 2025-26? The Knicks have played in just two games decided by less than eight points as December begins. While seven games have technically been “clutch”, just two have come down to the wire. That’s not to say the other clutch games didn’t have drama, but there haven’t been the last-possession heroics that are commonplace around the league.
On Opening Night, the closest that Cleveland got was five points with two minutes left. The Knicks had slim hopes in a fake comeback against Miami in October, closing an 18-point deficit to five with 90 seconds left before an Andrew Wiggins dagger. They were in a close game in Milwaukee for 44 minutes until the Bucks ran roughshod to close the game. Same can be said for the NBA Cup opener against the Bulls.
So right, there are four “clutch” games that were decided when the final minute of the game began. The only other clutch games were the two-point loss to Miami in November, the two-point win in Dallas, and Friday’s NBA Cup finale against the Bucks, where Jalen Brunson’s and-1 with 1:27 to go made it a seven-point game and put it away.
Just three of the Knicks’ last 14 games had any semblance of drama, and only two of them were real. The Knicks had multiple opportunities at pulling out the win in South Beach that fell off the rim, and they survived an upset against the incredibly shorthanded Mavericks on an offensive foul with one second left.
Other than those games, the month of November has been as milquetoast as possible. Some games have been competitive, but are ultimately never in doubt by the end. What’s driving this?
Volatility. The Knicks have become a boom-or-bust team on offense with Mike Brown’s philosophy of making the team hard to keep up with. The formula for a Knicks win is usually a boatload of three-pointers and offensive rebounds with few turnovers. When executed well, the team can be close to unstoppable.
But there is a flip side. If the team is neutralized on the boards (especially when Mitchell Robinson is out), it places enormous pressure on making their threes, which they’ve been inconsistent on. Last night was a perfect example: the Knicks started 9-for-14 from deep and built a 24-point lead, only to miss 15 of their next 17 from distance and see Toronto pull to within three in the third quarter.
Ultimately, the rebounding helped save the Knicks, as they grabbed a monstrous 25 offensive rebounds, but there have been games where it doesn’t save them. They’ve shot under 34% from three in five games this season and are 1-4 in those games. The lone win? Barely surviving D’Angelo Russell and Naji Marshall in Dallas. Both losses to the Heat saw the team shoot under 30% and Kel’el Ware did a great job negating the rebounding differential.
That means the Knicks are a blistering 12-2 when they shoot above 34%, which is a comfortably below-average rate in the modern NBA. They’re 9-1 when they clear 36%, only losing to the Bulls in Chicago in the team’s worst defensive performance of the season. All of these wins are mostly comfortable, with the closest being Friday against Milwaukee.
They’re also unstoppable when they’re dominating the boards, for obvious reasons. 4-0 when winning the rebounding battle by at least 10, and only two of their losses saw them win it by more than five (overall record of 9-2). When they lose the rebounding battle outright? 2-3.
It might seem obvious that when the Knicks succeed at their strengths, they win games, but the fact that when they succeed, they blow teams out is notable. Last season, while they went 22-2 when shooting over 41% from three, they went just 18-11 when they shot between 36% and 41% compared to 7-2 in the same span this year.
But there’s one more thing that the Knicks have in their identity that has prevented games from reaching this point, and it’s been a part of their philosophy for years under Tom Thibodeau: they don’t blow big leads.
Sure, they struggle to put teams away at times, and Clyde Frazier isn’t wrong when he says the team lacks the “killer instinct” to step on their opponents’ throats and turn games into OKC-level blowouts, but they rarely fully let go of the rope.
The Knicks have held a 15-point second-half lead on 89 different occasions since the start of the 2023-24 season. They have won 88 of those games, the best record in the NBA in that span. They won 75 of those games in a row over two consecutive seasons until they endured the most tragic collapse in recent memory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Regardless, they don’t let go of the rope. There are games where they go up big early and fall apart, sure, but when the team is firmly in control of a game in the second half over the past three seasons, they almost always win. It’s a far cry from the pre-Brunson Knicks that never could hold a lead. I don’t need to regale you with what the 2021-22 Knicks did on a near-daily basis, do I?
Speaking of Brunson, that’s probably the biggest reason for that. The Knicks have a closer who can command the ball and dictate the offense when the going gets tough. We’ve seen a few times this season where Mike Brown’s pace-and-space, spray to open shooter philosophy has taken a step back to Brunson hero-ball when the Knicks can’t buy a bucket. That’s a good thing.
It’s all resulted in games that feel mundane. You usually know pretty early what way a game is going, and that can be boring to some, but if the Knicks are winning? I have no problem with it.
Source: https://www.postingandtoasting.com/...s-nba-mike-brown-clutch-brunson-tom-thibodeau