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By Anne Erickson
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The New York Knicks had a historic 51-31 season last year — one that ended with them almost getting to the NBA Finals.
The Knicks were eliminated from the playoffs in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals on May 31, losing to the Indiana Pacers in a hard-fought series.
Getting that close and falling short likely hurts, and the Knicks are back with a new head coach in Mike Brown and the determination to go all the way. New York hired Brown in July to take the place of Tom Thibodeau, who was let go at the end of last season.
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With a lot of excitement surrounding the Knicks heading into this season, there are also some concerns too. Notably, having a new coach brings a hugely new dynamic to the team. As ESPN notes, Brown is of the league's "foremost defensive minds," and he's also known for his up-tempo pace. So, things will be different, and Knicks star Jalen Brunson knows that.
Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns appeared on their podcast, "Roommates Show" on Tuesday, and Brunson got real about the team's status ahead of their 2025-26 season opener on Wednesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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Read more: New York Knicks HC is Using NFL Plays to Teach Team
"I think we have a long way to go to be back to where we want to be," Brunson said. "And I actually like that because it’s like a new focus for us. We're not jumping back into where we were last year. It's like a whole new journey."
He also talked about how difficult it will be for the Knicks to get back to the conference finals and warned that it's not a guarantee.
"It's really easy to be like, 'Alright, let's get back to the conference finals. That's our goal,'" Brunson added. "No, our goal is to get better every single day. Especially with this new regime, these new schemes, this new everything. It's like a whole reset."
Even though Brunson says this year will be different, he's staying positive about the team. On the same note, Hart expressed how excited he is to see how things shake out with the team's new head coach.
"Obviously when you have a change in coaches," Hart stated. "Excited to see how that works out, and then to see the strides we make offensively and defensively… We want game 82 to look totally different than game one. I think that's going to the beauty of having so many different pieces."
On Wednesday, the New York Knicks downgraded Towns to doubtful to play in Wednesday night's season opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers, according to a report from ESPN's Shams Charania.
Read more: Knicks Get Brutal Karl-Anthony Towns Injury News Hours Before Season Opener
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