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Knicks finally win, and Mike Brown explains what he got wrong in the 0-3 start
After beating Detroit for their first win, the Knicks say they looked like themselves again. Next up is a back-to-back in Chicago, where New York is favored.
The New York Knicks left Madison Square Garden on Tuesday with a 111-97 win over Detroit, their first of the season. The more useful news came afterward, when coach Mike Brown said he had been running a rotation experiment that he has now stopped.
In comments collected by Posting and Toasting on SB Nation, Brown said he spent the first two games playing Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns together in two stretches, which left a window in the middle where neither was on the floor. The Knicks rarely did that last season. Brown said he didn't like what he saw on film and went back to keeping one of his two stars on the court. He compared it to last year's choice not to start Josh Hart, another early move the team paid for and then reversed. He said more changes could come, and that some of them may not last.
Towns made the case for the change on his own. Brown said he challenged his center at halftime, telling him Detroit's big man was beating New York on the glass. Towns answered with 27 points and 20 rebounds. According to the Associated Press, Brunson added 23, Mikal Bridges hit his first four 3-pointers of the season, and New York beat the previously unbeaten Pistons 37-13 in the third quarter. It was the Knicks' first win since Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
The defending champions sounded relieved but not satisfied. Brunson said the team had gotten too comfortable during its good runs in the losses, and Towns said the group played more like last year's team. Brunson also had a lighter take on what keeps Hart going: "Popcorn, candy, wine and caffeine. He's just a different person." Brown said nothing is fixed yet. He wants the bad stretches to last a minute or two, not eight or ten.
What it means in Chicago
The win only lifts New York to 1-3. Before Tuesday the Knicks had lost to Philadelphia by six, at Boston by four and to Orlando by nine, so all three losses were within reach late. The offense has been the problem. Even on Tuesday, AP reported the Knicks shot 43.2% from the field and 12 of 36 from 3, which is why Brown keeps saying the shots will start falling.
Wednesday's game at the United Center is the back half of a back-to-back, and it comes against a defense that should help. Athlon Sports has the Bulls at 1-3 as well, losers of two straight and giving up 129.5 points a game. The game is on NBA League Pass.
The prices on this site's game board make New York a clear favorite. Novig has the Knicks at -264 on the moneyline and Chicago at +257. On the spread, Novig lists New York -7.5 at +102. The best number anywhere for Knicks backers is FanDuel's -6.5 at -120, a full point shorter at a higher price. Novig sets the total at 232.5, with the over at +104, while Pinnacle has the best over at 231.5 for -110. Across the 12 venues, sportsbook hold runs from 2.9% to 5.1%, so the books are close together on a game the market expects New York to win.
Whether the Knicks cover may depend less on the Bulls than on whether Brown's settled rotation and Towns' second-half effort carry over to a second night in a row.