Why Knicks might need dramatic fix for defense

DETROIT — The Knicks, if you recall my reporting from the hiring process over the summer, pushed their next coach to hire coordinators.

The concept is hardly new in the NBA, but Mike Brown took it a step further by very publicly and purposefully defining roles: Chris Jent runs the offense, and Brendan O’Connor runs the defense.

It was part of a new collaborative approach in the wake of the One Voice Tom Thibodeau era, a way to empower a deep staff bankrolled by James Dolan.

And now, as the Knicks keep stumbling, especially on one side of the ball, it’s easy to assign responsibility for the failures.