Mike Brown didn’t wait long to make a point with Andre Drummond.
Just two games into the NBA season, after a rocky first half against the Boston Celtics, Brown shut down Drummond’s second-half run and handed those minutes to 25-year-old third-stringer James Wiseman. The move didn’t last forever - Drummond was right back in his usual role the next game - but the message had already landed. Against the Detroit Pistons, he responded with 10 points and eight rebounds in 14 minutes, making it obvious the benching had gotten through.
That kind of early-season correction has plenty in common with what John Harbaugh recently did with Cam Skattebo, even if the sports and situations don’t line up perfectly. After Skattebo’s costly fumble against the Washington Commanders, WFAN’s Tiki Barber said his production was no longer covering up the detail issues that were hurting him and his team. Skattebo still dressed and took the field the following week against the New Orleans Saints, but he never carried the ball.
Harbaugh said after the game that Skattebo had not been benched. Skattebo said otherwise, telling reporters directly that his lack of offensive involvement was punishment for the fumble the week before. Then came the answer on the field: against the Houston Texans, he went for 17 carries, 124 yards and a touchdown, including a 42-yard run in overtime that set up the game-winning score.
The situations aren’t identical, and the source of the discipline differed. Drummond’s mistakes didn’t carry the same weight, and Brown was working with a championship team he had just guided to the title last season. Harbaugh, meanwhile, was only five weeks into his Giants tenure when he went that route with Skattebo, whose immediate rebound helped fuel an improbable upset.
Still, the point from both coaches was unmistakable. In New York, the standard is the standard, and nobody gets a pass - not for a moment, not for a matchup, not for the score. Brown and Harbaugh were willing to create some discomfort in the locker room to make sure that message came through loud and clear.
In Other News...
Knicks Already Have An OG Anunoby Problem They Cant Ignore
OG Anunoby has been asked to do more for the Knicks this season, and the early returns have been mixed in a way that matters beyond the box score. With more touches and more drives per game, New York has tried to put him in positions to create offense instead of just finish it, but the efficiency has slipped and the ripple effect has shown up on the other end, too.
For a team that leans on Anunoby as one of its most important two-way pieces, that is not a small issue. His offensive struggles have gone hand in hand with a dip in his defensive impact and the Knicks net rating when he is on the floor, which raises a bigger question about whether his game is best suited for a primary creator role at all. New York may have to rethink how much is being put on his plate before the fit starts costing them in more than one phase. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Suddenly Have A Mikal Bridges Decision They Can't Ignore
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Bridges was supposed to be one of the stabilizing pieces, but his struggles have turned him into a more complicated decision than the Knicks probably expected. With Oklahoma City now dealing with major absences, the idea of a trade involving Bridges and the Thunder has moved into the conversation, and New York has to consider not just the basketball fit but the roster and salary implications that come with it. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Face A New Problem In Their Backup Center Search
Chet Holmgrens expected absence for eight to 10 weeks has already sent a ripple through the backup big man market, and that matters for the Knicks as they continue looking for frontcourt help. Oklahoma City is now weighing whether to add another center to absorb the loss of Holmgren, and when a team with that kind of flexibility enters the same pool, it can change the price and the timing for everyone else.
For New York, the concern is less about one specific target than the broader squeeze that can follow. The Thunder have more assets and more salary cap room to work with, which gives them a cleaner path to outbid or outmaneuver a team like the Knicks if the same players become available. In a market where dependable size is already hard to find, that kind of competition could make an already tricky search even more complicated. [Read more 🡒]