Knicks Notes: Rotation tweaks, OG Anunoby’s All‑Defense push and Mike Brown’s playoff belief

A few notes from the Knicks’ win over Chicago on Friday:

ROTATION CHANGE?

Mike Brown went with Jeremy Sochan as his backup center against the Bulls. He was pleased with Sochan’s effort.

“It allowed us to do a lot of things like switch pick and rolls,” Brown said while giving Sochan the Defensive Player of the Game nod. “It brought a different element to our game. Not just offensively with the speed but defensively with switching a lot of things and just keeping the ball in front of us.”

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An interesting wrinkle to Sochan’s rotation minutes? Neither Jose Alvarado nor Mohamed Diawara played in the first three quarters of Friday’s game.

Afterward, Brown was asked about Alvarado’s role with the team. It’s a “priority” to play Miles McBride and Landry Shamet at the guard spots off the bench right now, Brown said.

“We think Jose has done a fantastic job for us,” Brown said. “… Deuce is getting healthier and Landry’s getting healthy and trying to find minutes for those guys — both of those guys are capable of playing that (backup guard) spot — is going to be a priority because they’ve proven themselves this year for us.”

Speaking of McBride’s health, he was asked about tweaking his groin/ab muscle last Sunday against Oklahoma City. McBride reiterated that the tweak against OKC is part of the process as he returns from sports hernia surgery.

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“It’s just kind of like a tweak; it’s a painful tweak,” McBride said. “(It’s) like someone stabbing your groin, hip and ab at the same time. It’s not fun. I’ll get back right. All glory to God.”

Apr 3, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks forward Og Anunoby (8) drives past Chicago Bulls guard Collin Sexton (2) in the third quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images / © Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

ANUNOBY’S ALL-DEFENSIVE CASE

Brown was surprised to hear that OG Anunoby has only made one All-Defensive team in his career (second team in 2022-23).

“It’s bulls–t, and I can say that with a straight face ’cause he’s a great defender and he does a lot of different things that people don’t see on that end of the floor for us and for…

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Publish date : 2026-04-04 05:16:00

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