Different vibes

Knicks training camp has a very different feel after two days. Plus, what is New York's biggest weakness?

Good morning and happy Friday! Let’s go into the weekend strong with a healthy dose of content from yesterday’s Knick practice and a great question that gets at the heart of New York’s biggest challenge this season.

News & Notes

Yesterday provided us with quite the cornucopia of sound bites after Knicks practice, and one video I found especially notable which might surprise you.

Let’s start with a few Deuce soundbites, both of which fall squarely under the “Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Thibsus anymore…” umbrella:

• Deuce McBride on Mike Brown’s offense: “A lot more player movement, ball movement. Last year, at times, we got stagnant and we depended on a lot of isolation shots, which is just tough down the stretch, and I feel like this year is going to be a little more freedom with the movement and a lot of guys cutting and different guys getting active ”

• Deuce McBride on what stands out about Mike Brown (after trying to find his words for a few seconds): “He’s been communicating with a lot of guys, also allowing a lot more people just to talk and to really get a feel for what’s going on”

Well then. Talk about saying the quiet part out loud. Here’s a shot of McBride and his new head coach:

And then there’s this video of Bridges and Brown (h/t SNY), which speaks a thousand words to the body language doctor in me:

Look…I loved Tom Thibodeau as a Knicks coach and will always appreciate him as a personal inspiration on several levels. This Mike Brown thing, with an offensive approach that is radically different from what has been working pretty well for years, may blow up in everyone’s face. I have no idea.

But I’ll be damned if Mikal Bridges doesn’t look happy again, and I’m willing to bet that he already feels a closeness to his new coach that he never felt with his old one. Who knows what that’s worth or even whether it’s a definitive positive, but it sure seems obvious to me.

Other things of note…

• Josh Hart wore the starters’ blue jersey and a splint on his finger.

• Mitchell Robinson isn’t sure if he’ll play back-to-backs, doesn’t care whether he starts or comes off the bench, isn’t concerned about his impending free agency, and grows his own food on his new farm. Long live Mitch.

• Per Ian Begley, Mike Brown spoke about wanting players to have defined roles this season, ideally before opening night. Begley went on to say that the lack of defined roles may have hurt the team last year.

That’s pretty much it. We’ve now heard from every one of the presumed top nine rotation players except for OG Anunoby, not that he’d have much to say anyway.

Let’s get to today’s question.

That One Thing…

We end the week with a question from frequent commenter Dbn123, who asks:

What key flaw do the Knicks need to correct to win the title? Personally, I believe it’s the fact they are relying on Mitch to be the defender of last resort as they need Towns at the four and a robust and generally healthy, good free throw shooter and shot blocker at the five.

Thanks for the question DBN (and a reminder to everyone to keep getting those questions in to macri@knicksfilmschool.com. They’ve been great so far.)

I think there are two ways to approach this question: one focusing on New York’s strengths and the other focusing on their weaknesses. I’m going to try and do both, starting with strength.