To nobody’s surprise, New York Knicks superfan Spike Lee believes that this is the year his team will finally win the championship. Lee believes that unlike in the past, the path has never been this wide open for the Knicks to make it as far as the NBA Finals and with a reloaded roster and a new coach, he thinks the team will be better than last year.
“I don’t want nobody get hurt. Nobody,” Lee told Tyrese Haliburton on “The Young Man and the Three” podcast. “But this is our year. Indiana, Boston sucks. I’m not saying it’s going to be a cakewalk but yourself and brother Tatum are key parts and now look, I’m not hating on Thibs I got a lot of love for him. But now we got Mike Brown. We’re 12, you see our bench? Our bench is crazy,” Lee explained.
A retooled Knicks team
The two-time Academy Award winner is confident that the Knicks’ core of Jalen Brunson, Karl Anthony-Towns, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges is now more battle-tested and has enough reps together to be more successful. It’ll also help that the Knicks significantly improved their bench by adding Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele to replace Cam Payne, Precious Achiuwa and P.J. Tucker.
Last season, New York averaged the bottom five in the league in bench production, not only because they didn’t have depth but also because Tom Thibodeau barely gave them a chance. Lee believes that this is going to change under Mike Brown‘s leadership, as the defensive-minded coach will lean more on his bench and construct a system that focuses more on balanced team basketball.
“I mean, I’ll tell you this. I go to Vegas on this. The Knicks’ five stars will not lead the league in minutes like they did last year,” Lee claimed.
At least three members of New York’s starting five, Hart, Bridges and Anunoby, ranked in the top 10 in minutes played last regular season. While Thibodeau had his reasons for playing his starting five such heavy minutes, it wasn’t sustainable in the long run as injuries and fatigue caught up to New York. That’s why the addition of Clarkson and Yabusele is expected to be integral in addressing the team’s issues from last season.
More reasons for Lee to be excited
Besides his plan to rely more on depth and implement a team-oriented system, Brown will also bring championship experience to this Knicks roster. The newly hired head coach has been coaching in the league for 11 seasons now and has made it to the NBA Finals six times with three different teams.
Brown won four championships as an assistant coach and has been around the likes of LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Stephen Curry and most recently De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. This time, he’ll get to coach Brunson, Hart and co who, like Lee, have expressed their excitement about having their new coach on board.
The Knicks had an eventful offseason filled with pivotal moves that their fanbase should be excited about. Now more than ever, they’re looking more equipped to finally end their 53-year championship drought, which Lee is confident will happen this coming season.