Mike Brown sets Knicks regular-season expectations as adversity awaits reigning champs

It’s hard to imagine a better version of basketball than the playoff finish by the Knicks: 13 wins in the final 14 games — several in utterly dominant fashion. But as the encore got underway this week at the Tarrytown practice facility, coach Mike Brown twice pumped the brakes on the idea that the steamroll will persist.At Monday’s Media Day, he cautioned that adversity is inevitable.

The Knicks certainly experienced that during a 2-9 stretch last season in January. And after Tuesday’s first practice, the championship coach acknowledged the impossibility of maintaining the near perfection of the playoffs. “We’re not playing at that level for 82 games,” Brown said.“You know, we played at a pretty high level, and … that’s not going to happen over 82 games.

You know, for me, the 82-game season is about trying to find your way.” Indeed, the Knicks aren’t predicted to smash any regular-season records.The East is too good and the veteran Knicks have clearly learned about pacing toward a sprint finish.

A year ago, the young Thunder were coming off a championship and quickly threatened 70 victories (amid injuries, Oklahoma City finished with a 64-18 record).New York’s Over/Under for wins this season is in the low to mid-50s, depending on the sportsbook. Part of the early adjustment will be trying to recapture the efficiency of an offense with Karl-Anthony Towns as the hub, a strategy that will become more difficult to implement when the opposition studies enough film to counter.

The Knicks benefited from the element of surprise during the playoffs.They also weren’t dealing with tense contract negotiations — a reality facing the Knicks now, as extensions for Towns, Josh Hart and Miles McBride remain unoffered or unsigned. “You don’t want that trickling into the season.

Because whenever there’s uncertainty, there’s gonna be a lot of questions, there’s gonna be a lot of rumors,” Hart said.“At a human level, sometimes that...