By Graham Betchart | Mental Skills Coach & Co-Founder, Palms Down
Did you watch the Knicks and Cavaliers in Game 1 of the
Eastern Conference Finals?
Because that game started something.
The Knicks got down 20, maybe 22 points — and never flinched.
No panic. No pointing fingers. No checking out. They pulled off
an overtime win that set the tone for this entire series.
Now they’re up 2-0 and leading Game 3 as I’m writing this.
That momentum didn’t come from nowhere. It started with how
their minds handled that deficit in Game 1. Next play speed
isn’t just a moment — it compounds. It builds. And right now
you’re watching what a team looks like when that mental skill
is fully locked in.
What Next Play Speed Actually Looks Like
Next play speed is simple in concept and hard to execute: how fast can you move on from what just happened and get back to the present moment?
When you’re down 20 points, your mind wants to spiral. It starts doing math — we need 20 points, we only have 8 minutes, this is over. It starts replaying mistakes. It starts bracing for more bad news.
The Knicks’ minds never went there.
They stayed in the play they were in. Then the next one. Then the next one. They kept trusting. Kept being present. Onward and forward, no matter what. And that’s what Mike Brown coaches — and it’s something I saw up close.
Why I Have So Much Respect for Mike Brown’s Approach
In 2023, I was the mental skills coach for the Sacramento Kings — and Mike Brown was our head coach.
That year, the Kings made the playoffs for the first time in 16 years.
Sixteen years.
And one of the biggest reasons we were able to break that drought wasn’t just the talent on the floor. It was the culture Mike built around mental toughness and present-moment focus. He understood that how a team thinks determines how far they go. He coached next play speed before I had to say a word about it.
Watching him lead the Knicks through a 20-point deficit last night brought me right back to Sacramento. Same principles. Same results.
The Secret to Getting Better at It
Here’s something I don’t talk about enough: the fastest way to improve your next play speed is acceptance.
Accept what you can’t control.
You can’t control the turnover that already happened. You can’t control the calls, the deficit, the momentum. Fighting those things in your mind just keeps you stuck in the past — and you can’t play the next play from the past.
What you can control is your breath. Your focus. Your trust in your training. Your commitment to the present moment.
When the Knicks accepted they were down 20 — not defeated, just accepting reality — they freed their minds to compete in the present. And that’s when the comeback started.
We Train This Every Other Sunday
Next play speed isn’t a personality trait. It’s not something you’re born with.
It’s a rep. And like any rep, you get better at it by putting in the work.
Every other Sunday at 12 noon PST, we train exactly this inside the Palms Down Mental Gym — live, virtual sessions for players, coaches, and parents who want to build the mental skills that actually show up in big moments.
Game 1 of Easter Conference Finals was a reminder of why this work matters.
Join the Mental Gym → palmsdown.us
Graham Betchart is a mental skills coach and co-founder of Palms Down. He has worked with the Utah Jazz, Sacramento Kings (2023 NBA Playoffs), and UConn’s back-to-back NCAA Championship teams (2023 & 2024).