Will Mike Brown become a New York legend or just another Knicks passerby?

The first communication between Jaylen Brunson and Mike Brown did not mention basketball at all. The All-Star guard, who once made the league fearful with his ball control, did not hear the new coach ask him to change the star's style of play, nor did he talk about how to speed up the rigorous point guard. The second communication was still the same - no tactical concepts, no basic principles, and no plan on how Brown would lead the Knicks to make up for last season's regrets.

The third time, the fourth time... always the same. Not a word was said about basketball.

"We will have plenty of time to discuss basketball in the future until they get tired of hearing my tactical analysis, " Brown told The Athletic" admitted, "I want to get to know the player's true self first, because the coaching relationship is based on trust. This should not start with basketball talk, but with us understanding each other. What better way than talking about family, hobbies, where to live and where to go during the offseason? Now, I really start to know the complete him."

For Brunson, a Knicks star who just a few months ago helped the team achieve the best record in 25 years, this kind of communication means a lot. Brown did not step in with the radical offensive concept he wanted to implement, nor did he give advice to Brunson, who had watched the Finals at home. Brunson, who had a close personal relationship with former coach Tom Thibodeau, felt that Brown first viewed him as a complete person, not just a key to his success or failure as a coach.

"His core focus was to make sure I was comfortable with him and to build a mutual understanding, " Brunson said. "Relationships are important to him, and we share that. "

Brown came to New York with one goal: to win an NBA championship. The Knicks decision-makers made it clear when they fired Thibodeau that any result other than a championship was unacceptable. And if you want to say which season has the best chance to win the championship, it has to be this season-the Eastern Conference is full of scars, many stars have suffered injuries, and several championship teams are wavering between the present and the future.

This is undoubtedly a high-risk bet for a coach who is no longer young. But if you achieve your goals, the rewards will be unparalleled. Winning in New York will make you the most dazzling legend in the history of this star-studded city, enough to give you an exclusive seat at the Polo Bar for life, and you will also win a commemorative statue similar in size to the Statue of Liberty. Since Holzman led the Knicks to win the last championship in team history in 1973, 23 coaches have come and gone but failed. After more than half a century of desperate waiting, if the championship drought can be ended at this moment, it will surely create an immortal legend.

The connection between Brown and the Knicks is a miracle in itself. After leading the team back to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years and helping the Knicks transform from a laughing stock of the league to a respected team, Thibodeau was fired a few days later - a decision that even the team members did not expect. Then the Knicks launched an unconventional coaching search: first they tried to poach head coaches from other teams and leagues, and then they turned to assistant coaches and unemployed coaches.

In the end, Brown stood out. His experience coaching superstars such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kobe Bryant deeply impressed the decision-makers. The veteran coach has helped transform many teams, most recently in Sacramento. The offensive system he advocates is in line with modern trends, and he is favored by senior executives for his ability to coordinate the relationship between the coaching staff and management. Brown has experienced the Finals as a head coach and has also served as an assistant coach; he was fired after one season and left after six games after the first six games of the season. He has tasted all kinds of things in the world.

However, few people have experienced such a situation. After the team has just achieved the best record of this century, it does take a bit of "Big Apple City" courage to dare to take over the leadership of the city's ardent expectations.

Brown will either become an eternal legend or just another Knicks passer-by.

"First of all, no one has higher expectations for myself than I do," Brown said at the inauguration conference. "My standards have always been high. This is the New York Knicks. I often say Madison Square Garden is the temple of basketball, and I often talk about our fans. I love and embrace the expectations that come with it, and I can't wait. "

Brown has his own plans for how to activate the Knicks, and explained these ideas to Brunson at the appropriate time. He's asking the Knicks to speed up their offense -- something the team lacked last season. The offense often came to a standstill, with the basketball nearly erupting in sawdust from its repeated collision with the hardwood floor. The Knicks' previous success relied more on talent: Brunson is the league's top scorer, as is Karl-Anthony Towns. Although he won many games, the process often seemed difficult. For a team that made it to the semifinals, it shouldn't have been so difficult. Brown requires the team to significantly increase their three-point shots - training about 40 sets of shots every day can satisfy him. Although the Knicks were a team with a higher three-point shooting percentage in the league last season, they ranked last in the number of attempts. He will also upgrade the defensive system and no longer rely too much on man-to-man defense every night.

Brown is not a theoretical scientist, but a coach who has been tempered by actual combat and continues to evolve. He fully understands the importance of accelerating the offensive rhythm, understands why players need to sprint to the bottom corner "to flatten the defensive formation", and also understands that moving the ball laterally can disrupt the opponent's anticipation. He has a refreshing perspective on how twin-tower lineups are no longer considered taboo, which is why Towns will start alongside Mitchell Robinson in the new season.

"The primary factor is that today's big men's skills have been fully upgraded, or people have finally begun to pay attention to their skills," Brown explained. "Due to modern basketball's ultimate pursuit of offensive space, teams need more height advantages. You need to use height to make the defensive coverage area appear more compact. Long shots will produce long rebounds, so more players with long wingspan are needed on the court to compete for them.. Coupled with the frequent defense changes now, if the opponent makes a mistake in changing defense and leads to a small attack, with the current system that focuses on space and player flow, we can not only use low-post singles-let the big man turn around and shoot jumpers-but now the fight for offensive rebounds is a top priority. "

Under Brown, Brunson will run without the ball more than in recent years. Towns will frequently appear in the corners and wings, and Mikal Bridges may assume the offensive initiating task. Brown's goal is to break the shackles of the Knicks' predictable tactics last season, which not only restricted the team's development, but was also one of the reasons why the games were not enjoyable to watch and sometimes disappointing despite their excellent record. .

The Knicks have yet to practice any set tactics. There are no specific tactics designed for Brunson, and there are no specific offensive routines developed for Towns, Anunoby or Bridges. Instead, Brown spent most of the training camp inculcating his offensive philosophy: the first principle is to play fast, but. Equally important is developing a player's ability to read the defense and respond on the fly. Brown explained that the original intention of not having fixed tactics is to ensure that players can still create offense independently when tactics fail. In his view, being hampered in tactical execution in no way means that players should stagnate or wait for a savior.

In the eyes of the outside world, it is almost deviant to not set a fixed strategy at the end of the preseason. This seemingly crazy tactical innovator may lead the trend of the times, or he may fail completely. But for players who need to implement coaching concepts, this coaching method is widely recognized.

"I appreciate this coaching method very much," Bridges said. "The biggest advantage is that most of our players played together last year. I think it is faster to master fixed tactics than to understand tactical concepts. Concept cultivation needs to start from scratch, and growth must be consolidated through day-to-day training. As for the tactical routines, although they need to be designed and learned, I believe we can master them quickly. "

Brown is implementing a defensive system that even senior players need to adapt to. Unlike the Knicks' past reliance on man-to-man defense, the new system focuses more on overall defense.

Robinson will serve as the core of the defense. After he was injured from the start of the season to his return in March last season, he immediately made the team feel his huge influence. The center who has played in the NBA for seven years is frankly He said that he had never been exposed to such a defensive system. Guard Miles McBride explained that the new system emphasizes the use of physical assistance (Brown calls it "rotation defense") rather than false assistance on the ball carrier or cutter and then quickly return.

"This is a completely different style, " Robinson said, "It's a bit like zone defense but not exactly the same. We never really played that defense. In the past it was always a man-to-man system. Now we need to adjust our defensive habits, strengthen communication and cooperation, and use many defensive instructions that were not available last year. It's a completely different game mode. "

In the final analysis, whether the Knicks can reach the other side depends on the release of offensive potential, but also on how to solve the defensive problem of Brunson and Towns co-presenting at the most critical moment of the game. Although these two players go all out on the defensive end, their shortcomings are often targeted by opponents. This is just another challenge faced by Brown.

Not all coaches can take over a team with a mature roster like Brown. He has been given the opportunity to reshape his coaching career, and he is also tasked with satisfying the most victory-hungry fan base in the world.}The Knicks showed by firing Thibodeau: They firmly believe that coaching change is the key to breaking through the bottleneck. The team did not make major lineup adjustments during the offseason, and the management also maintained the original team. The only substantial change was to replace Thibodeau with Brown.

Because of this, the Knicks must show a new look, must break through the historical record, and must win the championship. Fair or not, these are the prerequisites for coaching this team.

However, despite the high expectations, Brown is content with it.

"Our goal—from James Dolan to Leon Rose, from all the players to the fans—is to establish a culture that continues to win and eventually win the championship," Brown solemnly said, "This is the whole meaning of my coming here. "