Mike Brown likes what he's been seeing from the Knicks defensively.
Mike Brown has been looking for more defense from the New York Knicks all season and with the playoffs just around the corner, he's finally found it.
They've held teams to 106 points or less in each of their last five games and under 100 points altogether in three of those five. Along the way the Knicks have risen to the sixth-best defensive rating in the NBA and Brown sees a lot of different ways that they've improved.
When times were bad for New York around the midpoint of the season, Brown found himself increasingly frustrated with a number of things that he felt that the Knicks were doing wrong, but near the top of that list was a lack of physicality.
New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) goes to the basket as Toronto Raptors center Jakob Poeltl (19) defends during the second half at Madison Square Garden. Vincent Carchietta-Imagn ImagesNew Physicality
That physicality has stepped up, particularly in their April 10 win over the already-physical Toronto Raptor, and that commitment to fighting for the ball along with several technical improvements have made the Knicks a formidable team to try and score against.
"There's a level of physicality that we're bringing to the table every night without fouling. These last few games our pick-and-role defense has been good. People have been feeling us on our contests," Brown said (via SNY). "We've still got to make sure that we hit bodies when that ball goes up. I like where we are on that end."
The way that the Knicks have married both their strong defense with their offense, which has been some of the best in the league all season, is why they've won four of their last five games and have regained a foothold in the Eastern Conference.
Defense Wins Championships
Karl-Anthony Towns is a big force behind the team when it comes to defense, but players like Mikal Bridges have also stepped up when it comes to being a physical presence on the court.
New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) goes to the basket during the second half against the Toronto Raptors at Madison Square Garden. Vincent Carchietta-Imagn ImagesThis is the perfect time for the Knicks to find their stride defensively. The old adage that "defense wins championships" is proven truer each year and as great as the Knicks' offense has been, trying to simply outshoot opponents every time isn't the most sustainable of strategies.
But holding opponents back, that's an entirely different conversation. Introducing physicality to the game not only helps with a defensive effort, but it also helps back teams down, which can in turn let the Knicks' offensive game flourish even more.
The last few games have been a sample of what the Knicks can do on the defensive, now the next test will be if they can keep it up in the playoffs.