The Strickland’s 2025-26 Knicks Season Roundtable

The Strickland’s staff’s yearly tradition of getting together to be wrong about everything.

Welcome back to another edition of the Strickland’s Season Preview Roundtable. This is a age-old tradition dating back to the 2020–21 NBA season. Yes, we’ve been at this game for six years now. Crazy how time flies when your favorite basketball team has Jalen Brunson as its best player.

As per usual, there are a number of questions we ask the staff to put fingertips-to-keyboard and give their best Nostradamus impressions. How will any of this age? Only time will tell (here’s last year’s if you want an idea). Without further ado, The Strickland Staff:

The last time the New York Knicks had three seasons in a row of 50-plus wins was over 30 years ago when they did it in four: 1991–92 (51 wins), 1992–93 (60), 1993–94 (57), and 1994–95 (55). In that third year, the Knicks made it to the NBA Finals. Does history repeat itself?

Prez: Yep.

Shwin: Yes.

Sam: Easily.

Drew: This is a time where I would like history to repeat itself.

Luca: Yes, and I’ll even predict a 57-win season.

Stacy: 60 wins is on the table.

Shax: Yes.

Alex: 50 wins is cake. Finals… I hope so.

What will the starting lineup be, and will it be the team’s best five-man combination when the playoffs start?

Shwin: Brunson/Mikal/OG/KAT/Mitch.

(Ed. note: Many of these responses were written before it was announced Mitch will be out for opening night.)

I'm not convinced this is actually the team’s best lineup, but it will be better than how last year’s starting five ended up and will be one of the team's top-3 lineups.

Sam: What Shwin said, as long as the Knicks’ best lineups are the ones playing the most meaningful minutes, like closing games, then I think that’s what ultimately matters. 

Drew: As I said on the Patreon exclusive podcast Takes From Obvious Bozos, the starting lineup throughout the season will fluctuate. Some nights Mitchell Robinson will start, some nights he will have a day off and Deuce McBride or Josh Hart will start. There might even be nights in January where Ariel Hukporti or Guerschon Yabusele start! Well, that’s a bit of wishful thinking. The best five-man lineup will be Brunson, McBride, Bridges, Anunoby, and Towns.

Luca: I agree with Shwin that the opening night starting lineup will be the double-bigs. I don’t think this lineup will be the team’s best by the time playoffs start, but I do think it will outperform last year’s starting five (3.08 net rating over 940 minutes). I concur with Drew that the full 5-out lineup will be the team’s best by year end.

Stacy: I’ll agree with Shwin. For one thing, the Knicks’ biggest threat in the East — Cleveland — goes double-big.  Additionally, we saw that teams will attempt to go hack-a-Shaq on Mitch.  Even when they don’t, he draws a ton of fouls.  That’s a big advantage early, when you can get teams in the penalty without necessarily exposing him to a lot of free throws.  Late in quarters this means Brunson and KAT can feast at the free throw line.  

Shax: Brunson/Bridges/OG/KAT/Robinson.

The best 5-man unit will be a 5-shooter lineup with KAT at center. Though I love the double big look, as it's one of their best lineups.

Alex: Definitely Brunson/Deuce/Bridges/OG/KAT. What were these guys thinking, don’t they know Mitch is out for the first game?? I’ll actually buck the trend though and say I think double big will be the best 5-man unit by year’s end.

New York averaged 34.1 3-point attempts per game last season, which ranked 27th in the NBA. League average last season for threes was 37.6 and only four teams averaged over 40 per game: Boston (48.2), Golden State (42.4), Chicago (42.0), and Cleveland (41.5). Over/under 38 threes per game for the Knicks this year. And if over, do they reach 40-plus?

Shwin: Over and they clear 40.

Drew: The way the league’s 3-point rate is trending, I’m thinking they’ll clear 40.

Prez: Over, but only by a hair at 39. 

Luca: Over, and I think they break 40 attempts per game. In Brown’s two full seasons as the Kings’ coach, they were sixth (37.3) and third (39.1) in threes attempted per game. With the personnel the Knicks have this year, and the emphasis Brown has placed on shooting threes in the preseason, I expect to see the Knicks let it fly a ton this year.

Sam: Over, it seemed like it was huge priority during the preseason. 

Stacy: Over. They were over 40 in preseason. Faster pace means more shots overall. And I’d argue — if they are going double big more than Hart — that could actually generate more 3-pointers. Mitch gets you four extra possessions himself, and those along with the attention he draws can create more open opportunities for shooters, particularly on tip-outs or even on drives when taggers have to deal with his rim threat on pick-and-roll.

Shax: Over, and over 40 I think. Easily.

Alex: Over for sure. Let’s say 41.69.

The 3-point attempt rate is going to get most of the attention this season. What will be an “under the radar” stat to keep track of?

Shwin: Offensive and defensive rebound rate, and steals.

Prez: **Mike Brown voice** sprays!

Sam: Transition points and bench points.

Drew: Since Shwin picked more than one and ignored the prompt, I’ll do the same: Assist and turnovers, with an increase in both.

Luca: Opponent’s threes attempted per game and 3P%. Both metrics were heavily scrutinized during Thibs’ time here thanks to his emphasis on defending the paint first, and I’d like to see both of those numbers drop under Mike Brown’s tutelage. 

Stacy: Percentage of possessions with a shot before 14 seconds.  I don’t know if you can track this, but percentage of possessions where they get into a set before 18 seconds.  

Shax: Love Stacy’s point about the pace. For me it's how much offense they run, their efficiency in it and vice versa.

Alex: I’m with Sam, I think transition is going to be a huge emphasis, and hopefully they’re among the leaders in transition points in the league.

We’ve seen changes in the play style and offense in the preseason with Mike Brown as the head coach. What difference between Brown and Tom Thibodeau will be most profound and noticeable?

Drew: This is a really small change, but it’s going to make a big difference. Jalen Brunson will not bring the ball up the court every possession. We’ve seen this already in the preseason and it will carry into the regular season.

Luca: Building off of Drew’s answer, the emphasis on getting Jalen going off-ball and within the flow of the offense rather than making him both the play starter and the play finisher. Not only will this boost Jalen’s effectiveness, but it will allow others (namely Mikal and KAT) to be maximized to the best of their abilities as well.

Stacy: I agree with Drew, but I think we’ll also get to see more true 5-out. Even if Deuce doesn’t start, he will play with the starters quite a bit (we saw Brown close multiple halves in preseason with that lineup). When Brunson and KAT could actually run pick-and-roll against an opposing center (instead of a wing) it was truly explosive.

Shax: The most noticeable is how much everyone will touch the ball. To put it in very simple terms.

Alex: KAT getting to shoot more threes, and Brunson getting to shoot more catch-and-shoot threes. Both very efficient shots that there weren’t enough of under Thibs that will stick out like a sore thumb.

Related, give us your predicted worst Mike Brown habit and best Mike Brown habit

Prez: Best will be letting the bros get out and run, worst will be going to Yabu at the five just a liiiitttle bit too much rather than letting Hukporti get some minutes to cook.

Drew: The best habit will also be the worst habit: eclectic lineup combinations to determine if they work or not.

Shax: Worst: Over freelance or motion offense usage. Best: Use many lineups.

Alex: The best habit will be trying some new stuff out within the course of the season and not treating every regular season game like a Game 7. I’m with Doug in that that could also be frustrating to watch on any given night if the experiments aren’t going well. But it’s important to do that before the playoffs!

Most annoying-to-fans storyline? (Think Thibs starting Elfrid no matter what)

Prez: ‘’Is this offense too communist?’’

Shwin: “Have the Knicks lost the grit that defined who they were under Thibs?” anytime the Knicks have a poor stretch.

Sam: Is Jalen Brunson only good with the ball in his hands? Should he have the ball more again? Especially if the Knicks get off to a slow start, something that was common in the Thibs era. A continuation of last year's storyline when he was out and the others on the team like OG and Mikal were able to get their games off a bit more. 

Stacy: What Shwin said.  

Luca: “Is Mike Brown too lenient of a coach? Does he hold his players accountable like Thibs does?” (Even though there’s strong evidence that Thibs was too lax on his main guys.)

Shax: Shwin said a good one. I will add, since it's happening now, “When will Mitchell Robinson actually play basketball.”

Alex: Basically what Shwin said. Thibs will start doing TV spots again and once that happens, forget it. The pontificators defend their own like rabid dogs.

Make the case for one Knick to be the team’s MVP. No duplicate choices. Each person picks a player not argued for. GO!

Shwin: I’ll say Mitchell Robinson and give somebody else the easy job of picking Brunson. Mitch is their biggest floor and ceiling raiser on defense, he unlocks the ability to reliably play double big with KAT and/or Yabu, and is also more than capable of playing as the lone big as well. He also has been a decisive factor in multiple Knicks playoff victories. I do not give a single fuck how it happens, but ensuring he’s in optimal health and condition for the playoffs is paramount to the Knicks’ hopes of winning a title.

Stacy: Jalen Brunson. He is the Knicks’ best player. He is their closer. More off-ball play will make him more dangerous — he can take the best of what he was in Dallas while still being the dominant alpha dog he’s been in NYC. The scoring might not skyrocket, but I think the efficiency and the headaches for defenses will.

Shax: OG. Team’s best defender on the perimeter. His presence is invaluable for the team. The list of players that are 6-foot-7 to 6-foot-8 with his scoring averages and defensive ability is short. 

Luca: Deuce McBride. We’ve seen his effectiveness next to Jalen (15.7 net rating when they shared the court last year), and his shooting ability and elite POA defense gives Mike Brown plenty of strong lineups to build around Cap and Deuce.

Alex: KAT? How did nobody say KAT? He’s gonna have a nonsensical scoring year and definitely win a few games basically by himself.

There seems to always be a player on every team that “underachieves.” We obviously don’t want this to happen, but let’s mentally prepare for this inevitability. Which Knick will “underachieve” this season?

Shwin: Clarkson. I think there's a decent chance he becomes situational a month or two in.

Sam: Yabu, what if last year was a flash in the pan with the 3-point shooting. 

Shax: Clarkson. I tried my best to like him even during the summer when watching video and then into the preseason. He brings a level of streakiness and “real hooper” game to the Knicks that don't think will work out in the long run. 

Luca: I think Josh underperforms relative to expectations. He was a Thibs super soldier and with Brown having no marriage to him, we could see his numbers drop across the board. No doubt his effort will remain though.

Alex: I agree with Luca, I think it’s Hart. Part of it might be that he gets in his own head and gets testy about not playing 40 minutes a game anymore.

Which Knick has the most to prove this season?

Prez: Easy, Mikal Bridges. The perceived biggest mismatch between coach and player last year, with the superstar pick cost and less-than-superstar production.

Shwin: Bridges. Failing to get the most out of him was a large factor in Thibs losing his job. Now that he's gone there's really nowhere to hide for Mikal. The Knicks’ FO overpaid for him, but they've now doubled down on that bet and laid the onus on Mike Brown to get the most out of him. 

Sam: Shocker here, but Bridges. I was already low on the Knicks acquiring him and for the price they did even lower. He wasn’t utilized at his best much of last year and was vocal about it. So far he and Mike Brown have been very complimentary of each other. We’ll see how long that lasts and if Mikal can look more like the player we hoped for. 

Stacy: Bridges.  

Shax: Bridges gotta show me something this year. Both ends too.

Alex: Yeah, Bridges.

If you needed a login for the Criterion Channel, who on the Knicks are you asking?

Shwin: Landry Shamet.

Drew: Shamet.

Shax: Shamet.

Are we getting any new faces on Celebrity Row this season?

Prez: Low-key the Knicks been dipping their toe in the K-pop artist celeb fan wagon for a few years. I expect Dolan to spend the money and get one of the Huntr/x girls to be a courtside regular.

Drew: Prez is a take thief, but that means he’s actually listening to Takes From Obvious Bozos so I can’t be mad.

Alex: I work for a YouTuber by day who I’ve been trying to get to sit courtside and bring me along for three years now. So I’m manifesting Marques Brownlee being a new face on celeb row.

Over/under is set at two for Tracy Morgan upchucking incidents on the Garden floor

Shwin: Push.