Brown seems to have his mind made up.
The New York Knicks have three games left in the regular season and a date with the Boston Celtics on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.
But before that game even tips off, head coach Mike Brown already gave the basketball world something to chew on when he addressed reporters pregame and let slip just how close his playoff rotation actually is to being finalized.
"You won't tell anybody?" Brown said with a grin. "Those guys are probably our top nine, and when you're talking about playoffs, it's hard to play more than nine guys. So, trying to find a way to get those guys on the floor, with the right combinations at the right times, is something that I'm messing around with. It's close, might be a few things I may change."
What the Hawks Game Told Us
The rotation Brown is referencing became pretty clear in Monday's 108-105 win over the Atlanta Hawks, a game that came down to the final second when CJ McCollum's half-court heave was waved off after review.
The Knicks went with their usual starting five of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns, then brought Miles McBride, Jordan Clarkson, Mitchell Robinson and Landry Shamet off the bench.
Nine guys, nine guys only, and it worked well enough to survive one of the toughest environments in the East on a night where Atlanta had won 13 straight at home.
Brunson carried the load with 30 points and 13 assists while Towns added 21 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.
The whole thing felt like a playoff preview, especially with the physicality and the tight fourth quarter where Brunson scored 17 to close it out.
Even Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who had 36 for the Hawks, admitted it felt like a postseason game.
Why This Is the Right Nine
Going with a tight nine-man rotation heading into the playoffs makes a lot of sense for this Knicks team.
The starters are obvious and have been all season. Brunson is averaging 26.0 points and 6.7 assists, Towns is putting up 20.1 points and 11.9 rebounds, and Bridges, Anunoby and Hart each bring defense and scoring without needing the ball constantly.
The bench pieces fit, too.
Thursday against Boston looked like another dress rehearsal, and the results backed it up. Brunson finished with 25 points and 10 assists while Hart exploded for 26 points on 5-of-7 shooting from three.
Bridges was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field with 10 points and 6 assists, and Towns grabbed 12 rebounds to go along with 16 points.
The Knicks shot 53.8 percent as a team, held Boston to just 23 fourth-quarter points, and won the turnover battle 7 to 11.
The starting five outplayed a Celtics group that featured Jayson Tatum in his first trip back to MSG since last year's playoff injury, and the bench held its own with Robinson contributing 7 rebounds and 3 steals in his minutes.
Playoff basketball is not about depth.
It is about your best guys getting the most meaningful minutes, and this group has now proven it can beat a 54-25 Celtics team that is second in the East.
The 52-28 Knicks sit two games back of Boston with two left to play, and Towns has already said the team needs to keep getting better every day before Game 1.
Winning like this against a legit contender in the final week while running that same tight rotation is exactly how you build the habits that carry over once the postseason starts.
Brown saying it was "close" before Thursday's tip might have been an understatement.
After watching how his guys played against Boston, it looks done.