INDIANAPOLIS — New York Knicks coach Mike Brown believes that while there are benefits to winning the NBA Cup, league officials should address the post-tournament scheduling in the future.
New York’s first-year head coach rattled off the grueling stretch the Knicks now face after beating the San Antonio Spurs 124-113 on Tuesday night in Las Vegas to win the in-season tournament. The eight-day run that features five games in three cities is capped by a noon tip at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Christmas.
“Basically, I’ve been here for a week praising the NBA. The Cup is fun and first class and all that other staff,” Brown said before Thursday’s game against the host Indiana Pacers. “But somehow, some way they need to take a look at the back end of the schedule — at least for anybody who’s in the final game — because it’s almost like you getting penalized for winning it, schedule wise.”
Brown detailed what it meant for the Knicks — immediately flying to Indiana, then heading home for games Friday against the Philadelphia 76ers and Sunday against the Miami Heats. Then the Knicks are off to Minneapolis for Tuesday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves before Thursday’s matinee against the Cavs.
It’s not just the schedule causing problems for the Knicks, though.
New York was set to face Indiana without centers Mitchell Robinson and Karl-Anthony Towns, as well as guards Josh Hart, Deuce McBride and Landry Shamet. All are out with injuries.
Plus, Brown acknowledged he didn’t follow his minutes limitations sheet as closely as he normally does during the most recent NBA Cup games because he wanted to win the championship. Now, he plans to revert to his more traditional regular-season philosophy.
“Now we’re back to our regular-season games, so minutes will go down to what I think they should be at for the rest of the season,” Brown said. “So I’ll go back to watching guys’ minutes more carefully, which is going to give other guys an opportunity.”
As for the Knicks’ decision not to hang a banner celebrating the NBA Cup victory, Brown called it an “organizational” decision. Still, he certainly thinks there’s value to earning the title of champions, even if it’s only December.
“What I did tell them was exactly what I just said, ‘Hey, heck of a month. Cherish this. We can talk about this for the rest of our lives, we can talk about this with our grandkids,'” Brown said. “But there’s more to this season. This is a taste of what we can do. We can’t afford to get comfortable because of winning it. We’ve got to go back to work.”