Mike Brown Addresses How Knicks Have to Rebuild Chemistry After Championship

Winning a championship does not mean the next season picks up right where the last one ended, and the New York Knicks are learning that the hard way.

Six games in, the Knicks are 2-4, and head coach Mike Brown spent part of Sunday explaining why a team with this much experience together still has to build its chemistry back up from scratch.

Brown spoke after practice on Sunday, one day before the Knicks host the Brooklyn Nets, and he compared the start of a title defense to climbing a mountain all over again.

He did not brush off the slow start, but he also did not sound worried about where this team is headed.

He told Jared Schwartz of the New York Post that the team has to go back down after reaching the top.

"It's like climbing a mountain. We're climbing a mountain as a team and we conquer the mountain, then you gotta come back down, take some time off, then you gotta climb another mountain," Brown said.

He went on to say that the second climb starts from base camp again and that skipping steps on a real mountain can be deadly, though he added that the Knicks' situation is not that dramatic.

At 2-4, his focus is on taking each step the right way and trying to get a little better every day.

Brown also said that if a team cannot get through its growing pains, it has no chance.

Back in the preseason, Brown talked about wanting to see how this group handles adversity, and now the Knicks are dealing with it for real.

The Knicks have not played since a 98-93 loss at Philadelphia on Friday.

Guard Jalen Brunson scored 24 points and center Karl-Anthony Towns had 22 points and 12 rebounds in that game.

Brunson spoke about the turnover problem after that loss, and the Post noted that the offense has had too many turnovers and too much isolation.

Schwartz also noted on X that the Knicks have as much continuity as anyone, which makes the slow start look stranger.

Still, there have been changes.

Center Mitchell Robinson signed with the Boston Celtics this summer, while the Knicks added center Andre Drummond and center James Wiseman.

New faces in the frontcourt take time to fit, and that is part of what Brown means when he talks about base camp.

I believe Brown on this, and guard Josh Hart has also shared what this team needs to bounce back, and the players seem to agree with their coach that the answer is in the details, not in panic.

Most of this team won it all last season, and I expect the offense to look much cleaner soon.

The Knicks host the Nets at Madison Square Garden on Monday night, and Brooklyn comes in at 1-5.

On the Knicks' side, guard Jose Alvarado is listed as questionable with a left ankle sprain.

After that, New York hosts the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday and visits the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday.

Beating a struggling Nets team at home would be a good first step up the mountain.