New-look Knicks: Early-season intel, numbers, what’s next in New York

A sigh of relief was hidden behind a smile immediately after Mike Brown's debut in the role New York Knicks trainer. Having replaced Tom Thibodeau and entering the season with expectations of a summer for the first time in decades, Brown needed a smooth start.

“Good first win,” Brown said after the Knicks’ season-opening win over the Knicks. Cleveland Cavaliers“knowing that we have room to grow.”

Over the past year, Madison Square Garden has seen change after change, starting with a shocking trade in September 2024 Julius Randle To Minnesota Timberwolves For Karl-Anthony Towns on the eve of training camp. (Randle returns to New York for the second time on Wednesday; 7:30 pm ET on ESPN.)

So far only double-sided wing Mikal Bridges He seems completely comfortable in Brown's system, which prioritizes ball movement and faster tempo. Bridges, who is posting career highs in field goal percentage and 3-point percentage, looks like a different player than the one who was shaky in his first season as a Knick and no longer has to feed off the gravity of the All-Stars. Jalen Brunson and cities.

What the Knicks as a whole are, however, remains a mystery. Brown's new system still looks tedious at times, resulting in him finishing in the top ten in seven games. Meanwhile, Towns is finding his footing in Brown's offense after his first NBA season in New York under Thibodeau.

But the premiere marked an important change from last season. Before defeating the defending champion in the second round Boston CelticsThe Knicks went 0-8 last season against the top two teams in the East. The win over the Cavs signaled that they have the opportunity to lead a team in a conference devoid of a truly dominant team. Based on the first few weeks of games in New York, where do the Knicks stand in this endeavor? Can injuries get in the way?

Let's take a look at what's new, what's working, and what still needs to be worked on as the new-look Knicks continue their newest evolution.

— Vincent Goodwill

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What do scouts and executives see in New York?

Considering it took the Knicks more than a month to hire Brown to replace Thibodeau—and that came after several failed attempts to find contract candidates with other teams—it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that the acclimation process between the coach and his players took time. Brown was the best choice, but not ideal. While the Knicks navigate these early-season waters, they've had to navigate choppy seas through seven games.

“A lot of it is that they just need time to figure out the offense,” an East executive told ESPN.

The adjustments start with All-Star Towns, who scored a season-high 33 points Monday against Washington Wizards but his field goal percentage is a shocking 40.8%, which is almost 8% lower than any other season in his 10 years in the NBA. He raised eyebrows just before the season when he said he didn't yet know his role in Brown's offense and began feeling out the new system in the early weeks.

“He, of course, had a clear role in [Thibodeau]” said a Western Conference scout, “and he made it clear that he wasn't too happy about not having a role right now.”

Josh Hartwho was synonymous with Thibodeau's strict system, regularly played massive amounts of minutes (at least 40 in 23 regular-season games last year) as a crucial cog in New York's run to the Eastern Conference finals.

Hart is now adjusting to full-time work on the bench. while playing due to a nerve problem in his right shooting hand this is the result of an aggravation of a finger injury he initially suffered in May.

Similar problems surround the center Mitchell Robinsonwho has a lengthy injury history and has already been placed on a load management plan to try to get him through the regular season and into the playoffs. Since the start of the 2023/24 season, Robinson has played just 50 games.

Every time he falls to the ground in pain, as he did during Sunday's victory over Chicago Bullswho appears to have injured his ankle during a seemingly innocuous play – Knicks fans are collectively holding their breath given Robinson's impact on the team in terms of rim protection and rebounding when he is available.

“The system will be fine,” an Eastern Conference scout told ESPN. “But will they have the strength to eventually get there? A lot of it comes down to keeping Mitchell Robinson and Josh Hart healthy.”

“These guys and their overall fitness level on a nightly basis really makes a difference.”

But despite all this, the Knicks still reside in the East. For all the holes that can currently be found in their preseason spot as one of the favorites to reach the NBA Finals for the first time this century, who should replace them?

Another preseason favorite, the Cavaliers will have to deal with their own string of injuries. Orlando Magic And Atlanta Hawkstwo trendy players who would finish in the top four behind New York and Cleveland also crashed out of the gate. And when several league sources were asked in recent days who New York would take to get out of the East, no one could give a firm answer.

“They'll get through it and win some games with talent,” said a Western Conference scout, “but there's a lot more drama than I think they could have imagined in the first week of November.”

— Tim Bontemps

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What the numbers say about the new-look Knicks

Lots of threes for the Knicks…

The most noticeable stylistic change for the Knicks is their shot distribution, as they have started using 3-pointers more often than ever under Thibodeau.

New York ranked 28th in 3-point shooting last season, but they rank fifth in 3-point shooting in 2025-26 with 48% of their shots coming from behind the arc. Only Cavaliers, Celtics, Golden State Warriors And Phoenix Suns — who were among the happiest three-point teams last season — made more threes as a percentage of total attempts than New York.

It is interesting that in addition to the Robinson centers and Ariel HookportyThe two lowest 3-point shooting percentages on the team belong to Towns (35% of his shots) and Brunson (37%), meaning all of the Knicks' role players are primarily spacing out space around their stars.

As a team, the Knicks made 36.9% of their 3-pointers last season, and that number is 36.5% in 2025-26. But the increase in attempts means they've moved from 24th in three-point shooting to third.

…And for your opponents

The same dynamic is playing out defensively, with New York allowing the sixth-highest percentage of 3-point attempts last season but giving up the fourth-most this season; 46% of opponents' attempts come from behind the arc.

New York isn't allowing more threes because it has made a more concerted effort to block the rim. Instead, his opponents converted some of their low-value mid-range attempts into more valuable threes. And these opponents capitalize on those extra attempts, making 39.6 percent of their three-point attempts, which ranks second in the NBA.

Of course, there may be a caveat to this fact in the schedule, as the Knicks have already played the Cavaliers and Celtics, who rank first and second in 3-point attempts, but have not faced any team that ranks at the bottom of the league. But it will be worth seeing if the Knicks defense can do a better job of preventing the 3-point rush as the season progresses.

Brunson being less ball dominant.

On an individual level, no one controlled the ball better than Brunson last season. He led the league with 524 dribbles per game, 8.8 minutes of possession per game and 6.1 seconds per touch, according to GeniusIQ tracking.

But Brunson's possession numbers have dropped across the board this season; these numbers dropped to 431 dribbles, 7.7 minutes and 4.8 seconds respectively.

A related change is a sharp decrease in the frequency of Brunson's pick-and-rolls. He was a ball carrier with 55 rebounds per 100 possessions last season, second in the NBA behind Trae Young. But he ranks only 12th among high-skill ball handlers this season with 43 picks per 100 possessions as Brown tries to democratize the offensive load.

More gears

One of the most obvious stylistic designations Sacramento KingsThe offense under Brown was all about passing the ball, and the Knicks followed suit under their new coach. Last season, GeniusIQ ranked them 14th with 23 assists per 100 possessions, but this season they moved up to first place with 43 assists per 100 possessions.

Brown's Kings teams used passing plays so often from behind the center of the offense. Domantas Saboniswho led the league individually for five consecutive years. But it's more of a team effort for New York, which uses all sorts of devolution to get its performances going.

Towns and Brunson more than doubled their assists from last season. Mikal Bridges almost quadrupled its control transfer speed. The new reserve is large Gershon Yabusele stepped in and Robinson has a career high turnover rate in two games.

As part of a greater emphasis on turnovers, the Knicks jumped from 18th in assists per game last season to fifth in 2025-26.

Rotten luck in shooting

One would expect greater diversification to lead to better results for New York, but the Knicks are just 4-3 with a 12th-ranked offense after finishing with 51 wins and the fifth-ranked offense last season. There's absolutely no reason to panic, however, because the Knicks are likely to skyrocket the standings once they get lucky.

According to GeniusIQ's data analysis, the Knicks outperformed the “expected” point total based on shooting quality and shooter personality by 47 points, while the Knicks' opponents outperformed the expected point total by 45 points. Essentially, the Knicks were unlucky on both ends; their minus-92 point differential based on shot luck is by far the largest in the league. (The second worst gap belongs to the 1-6 group. Indiana Pacersat minus-62 points.)

–Zach Crum