Knicks' various injuries have Mike Brown talking about 'next man up'
New York Knicks Head Coach Mike Brown, center, talks to Tyler Kolek during the second half of a preseason game on Monday. Credit: AP/Frank Franklin II
GREENBURGH — When Mike Brown was nearly done with an expansive media session, he was asked if everyone other than Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson had practiced. And the list was nearly as expansive as the rest of his interview.
Hart worked out alone, limited by the back spasms he suffered two weeks ago in the opening preseason game. Robinson was held out for a vague “workload management” pause, one that has gone on since he was held out of the second half of the third preseason game a week ago. Brown added that OG Anunoby, held out after tweaking an ankle in Wednesday’s practice session, and Karl-Anthony Towns, sidelined with a quadriceps strain, were doing individual work on the court — the last two joining the list of bodies listed as day-to-day.
It’s hardly the way Brown and the Knicks want to head into the final preseason game Friday night, but also another reminder that the best-laid plans on paper are always subject to change.
That hit in the last day when Malcolm Brogdon, battling for a roster spot, opted to retire. It took out the player most suited to serve as the backup point guard. His departure eased the logjam of players fighting for the last spot but left the Knicks with other questions, and little time to solve it.
“One of the phrases we use around here is the word 'next,' ” Brown said. “And it applies to a lot of things. In this case it applies to next man up. Next man up has to step up and go get it any time somebody is out. We play a five-on-five game most times after every game we play . . . guys who didn’t reach a certain amount of minutes in the game before [play], just to keep them in game shape . . . And we call that the ‘next game.’ So it’s no different if a player is out. You should always be keeping yourself ready mentally, physically, anyway. But it’s about the next man coming up and the next man getting an opportunity, so that’s how we look at it. Whoever goes and grabs it.
"We feel like we have a deep roster, and a lot of guys will have an opportunity to grab whatever minutes might have been there or might not have been there. It's just a case of earning your stripes, and we'll figure it out at the end of the day, whoever's gonna get whatever minutes are available.”
Barring a trade that allows both Garrison Mathews and Landry Shamet to stick on the team — or the arrival of another player — those two will fight for a spot, something both are accustomed to by now.
“It’s been a tough camp,” said Mathews, who spent the previous three seasons in Atlanta and, after going undrafted, established himself as a reliable three-point shooter. “I think I’ve played OK. Could do things better. Some things I did well, but no clue. It was a good, competitive camp, a team I’m happy to be on, and it’s just -- I like the culture here. It’s a competitive group. We’ll see what happens.
“I’ve been around. I’ve started. I’ve been on two-way [contracts]. I’ve been in the G League. At this point, nothing really surprises me anymore.”
“I think as a pro, you learn to manage your controllables,” Shamet said Wednesday. “Showing up as a pro and trying to bring the right approach and mentality to team settings, regardless of personal agenda or whatever the case may be. So my thought is, how can I help our team, help add to the culture and what we are trying to do offensively and defensively and show up and be the best pro I can be?”
The decisions must come by 5 p.m. Saturday. But, on Friday night at Madison Square Garden, there is another chance to earn a spot on the roster or in the rotation. And, with all the bumps and bruises, there should be opportunities.
“I mean, we'd like to play our guys as close to a normal rotation as possible,” Brown said. “But again, I'm not sure who's gonna play [Friday].”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
