The distinct communication change Mike Brown is bringing to Knicks

From the outside, it might seem like a subtle difference. Most won’t even notice it. 

For the players, though, the impact is felt. 

When Knicks coach Mike Brown subs players out of the game, he often takes a second to speak with them before they sit down on the bench.

That was rare under his predecessor, Tom Thibodeau.

Under Thibodeau, players usually just went straight from the court to the bench. 

“When you come off, just telling you what you did wrong, and sometimes even if you didn’t do anything wrong,” Mikal Bridges said after Knicks practice Saturday. “Mike does a great job of that. For example, in the game, I think he was taking me out and telling me what the minutes were going to be. He kind of let me know ‘I’m taking you out right now not because you did anything wrong, it’s just going to be we’re putting you back at this [other] moment.’ It’s just communication. Sometimes you can be playing hard and you don’t know if you messed up on a couple of things. If you get taken out, you’re kind of looking around and it’s like ‘did I do something wrong?’ Verbalizing that gives you confidence. You’re not wondering.”