Knicks Regret Firing Thibodeau? Mike Brown’s Fast-Paced System Sparks Early Turmoil

After a 2–3 start and a blowout loss to Chicago, questions arise about the Knicks’ decision to fire Tom Thibodeau. Mike Brown’s up-tempo offense is clashing with a roster built for defense — and Karl-Anthony Towns is struggling to adapt.

The New York Knicks entered the 2025–26 NBA season with optimism following last year’s impressive run to the Eastern Conference Finals.
But just five games into the new campaign, their 2–3 start — capped by a 135–125 loss to the Chicago Bulls — has sparked serious debate about whether the offseason coaching change was really necessary.

As Steve Popper of Newsday observed, management may have tried to “fix something that wasn’t broken.”

From Thibodeau to Brown: A Radical Shift in Philosophy

After five years under Tom Thibodeau, who emphasized half-court execution and elite defense, the Knicks opted for a fresh voice in Mike Brown, known for his up-tempo, ball-movement-heavy approach.
The idea was to modernize the offense and involve more players, avoiding the heavy-minutes workload that became a hallmark of Thibodeau’s tenure.

Brown has delivered on that promise — deploying 10-plus players in each game and spreading minutes more evenly. Yet the shift has come at a cost: the Knicks’ once-feared defense has faltered, and the offense has yet to find rhythm.

Against Chicago, a team tailor-made for transition play, New York gave up 135 points and struggled to keep up.

A Roster Built for Thibodeau, Not Brown

Popper notes that New York’s roster is still largely constructed for Thibodeau’s slower, defensive identity.
Players like Josh Hart, Julius Randle, and Karl-Anthony Towns thrived in a physical, grind-it-out system. Under Brown’s faster pace, their roles have shifted — and not always comfortably.

Karl-Anthony Towns Faces the Toughest Adjustment

No one has felt the transition more than Karl-Anthony Towns.
After being used primarily as a center last season, Towns is now logging more minutes at power forward, where he’s expected to run the floor in transition and defend on the perimeter — responsibilities that don’t fully match his skill set.

According to Popper, the change has left Towns looking out of rhythm on both ends of the court.
He hasn’t directly criticized his new role, but after Friday’s loss, his frustration was evident:

“Obviously we’re not happy. We had three winnable games and didn’t do enough to close them out,” Towns said.
“Last year that was our identity — we closed games. It’s a different feeling not being able to finish.”

His words reflect a broader truth: this Knicks team is still searching for cohesion under its new direction.

Can Brown Reignite the Knicks’ Identity?

It’s still early, and growing pains are expected with any coaching transition. But New York’s struggles raise valid questions about whether Brown’s system suits this roster — or if Thibodeau’s defensive foundation was prematurely dismantled.

For now, the Knicks must find a balance between Brown’s offensive innovation and the defensive grit that made them contenders. If they can’t, their bid to remain among the East’s elite could unravel quickly.