LAS VEGAS — Mike Brown didn’t reveal much in his introductory news conference, but he notably mentioned his desire for a speedy offense.
And he also relayed that to the coaching staff.
“We’ve laid out the core concepts for what we aim to achieve on both offense and defense. A significant aspect of our strategy — as he mentioned during his press conference — is focusing on fast-paced play,” explained Jordan Brink, the Knicks’ summer league coach.
As Brink noted, Friday night’s 104-86 loss to the Pistons quickly became a bad example of Brown’s vision.
They started poorly — failing to take care of the ball — and never recovered.
With Brown and the front office sitting courtside in Vegas, Tyler Kolek, the second-year point guard, struggled with 10 points and five turnovers.
The shaky performance, permeating through New York’s roster, can be easily tossed away as just a meaninglessly sloppy opener.
But it also wasn’t pretty.
“I felt it took some time for us to get accustomed to the game’s rhythm,” remarked Brink, who served as an assistant to Tom Thibodeau last season. “Throughout the week, we focused on maintaining speed and tempo in our practice sessions. However, in the initial five minutes today, we failed to uphold that intensity. From an offensive perspective, this was our primary focus, and I don’t believe we effectively executed that approach.”
Achieving success in the summer league doesn’t have long-term importance, particularly as not a single player on New York’s team is expected to play a key role in their rotation.
Still, at least three players — Kolek, Ariel Hukporti and Pacôme Dadiet — are guaranteed roster spots.
Another roster spot and three two-way contracts are also up for grabs.
And they all struggled Friday. The Knicks shot a combined 40 percent from the field and 22 percent (6-for-27) on treys.
It’s tough to play fast while committing 16 turnovers in 40-minutes.
“(Playing fast) doesn’t just mean up and down. It doesn’t just mean we got to get out in transition,” Brink said. “The fast part is all of our stuff in our actions. So we get the ball up the floor quick, and if we don’t have anything, we’re on to the next action quickly. So fast is really just decision-making.”
The good news is there are four more games in Vegas to produce a better version of Brown’s ideal offense.
Kolek is looking forward to another chance to display Brown’s philosophies.
“He hasn’t addressed the whole team. He just got here last week,” Kolek said. “But from what the coaches have been emphasizing in summer league, and I’m sure what he’s relayed to them, it’s just play faster, get the ball out, we want to sprint up the floor, move the ball.”
