Crazy fact I found out today: It’s been six years since COVID-19 began.
Now for the shocking news, it turns out it’s actually been eight years since the last time the Knicks played basketball. Would you believe that!?
Here’s the latest from Tarrytown.
Mike Brown
On OG Anunoby’s limited participation in practice on Wednesday:
“(The medical staff) told me what he can do today, and then they’ll tell me what he can do [on Friday], so I don’t know what he’ll be able to do for Game 1. He practiced today, some aspects of it. Some parts of practice. When we went live, he did not go live. Anytime anyone is able to do stuff, you get encouraged.”
On how Anunoby looked during his on-court work:
“The stuff that he went through, he looked fine.”
On balancing preparation, rest and scouting during the layoff:
“You try to get the input of everybody in the different departments, try to do the best you can to keep it competitive while keeping guys sharp while giving them a break as well. That’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to mix it up with some live stuff, some shooting stuff while watching some film. Not trying to do the same thing every day. Touching base on both opponents to a certain degree, but making sure it doesn’t get overwhelming. It’s a fine balance.”
On limiting live work this time of year:
“You don’t want to have too many days of live [work]. The last thing you want this time of year is an injury so we mixed in some live today. Not sure if we’ll do it again. Maybe we’ll do it one more day. That would be on feel and based off of whether we play sooner or later.”
On the value of versatility in the postseason:
“You need versatility especially come playoff time. Every step you go the teams are better. They are better on both sides of the ball so it becomes more challenging. But it can be challenging in different ways. To have guys you can move around to help you out is definitely huge.”
On empowering Karl-Anthony Towns and leveraging playmaking bigs:
“It’s my job as a head coach, as well as [our] assistants, to try to put guys in position to help them out. Being able to do stuff off-ball is another way to attack a defense. When you have guys that pass the ball like Draymond Green, like Sabonis, like KAT, you try to utilize their strengths to help others out and make others better. Putting KAT in that position knowing we have great screeners and great cutters, and like I said a great facilitator, it was easier to say, ‘Let’s try it and do it more.’”
On offering condolences following Jason Collins’ passing:
“[Jason] was a great man. I knew him personally through Jarron, and it’s gotta be tough times to go through what they’re going through when you’re dealing with the passing of somebody so young. So my best condolences go out to him, his family and all their friends.”
Jalen Brunson
On embracing a reduced on-ball role for the team’s benefit:
“Was there any concern (about playing more through KAT)? No. What was the dialogue? The dialogue was, ‘OK, let’s do it.’ It was that simple. There’s not really much you can talk about at that point when you’re down 2-1.”
On rejecting the ‘star’ label and prioritizing winning:
“One, I’m not a star. Two, I want to win. I’m not self-centered. That’s why.”
On maintaining rhythm during the extended layoff:
“I think we have our plan. Obviously, utilize rest, but then when we’re in the gym, no, we’re doing everything we have to do to stay in rhythm, stay having the edge that we need to have.”
On focusing inward while awaiting an opponent:
“Obviously, we have to prepare for one of these two teams. And then we’ve talked about the differences between the two and all that, but just focusing on what makes us the best thing we can be as well.”
On staying focused despite the success to date:
“I think the most important thing is our mentality and making sure that we’re not comfortable.”
On chasing a breakthrough in the conference finals:
“[I’m driven to clear that hurdle] a lot. But it’s something that you can’t just continue to dream about. You’ve got to continue to prepare the way you’ve been preparing and obviously find a way to push through.”
On Mike Brown’s open communication style:
“He’s always one to have open dialogue since Day 1. Obviously, he’s the coach and makes decisions and everything. Whether they’re good or bad opinions, they’re talked about and they’re decided on later. I’m pretty comfortable with it. I think a lot of us are comfortable with it.”
Josh Hart
On the extended downtime compared to earlier in the playoffs:
“The first series, we had, what, four days break, I think it was? That was good enough, yeah. This right now, I think, what, at least a week… nine days? It’s a long time. Obviously, it’s good for recovery. But mentally, I’m watching the games, I’m just like, just waiting… It’s a little long.”
On keeping the focus internal during the layoff:
“Every day we’re focused on ourselves. Obviously we don’t know who we’re going to play. If we continue to just focus on ourselves and take care of the things that we can take care of we’ll be in a good position. So that’s all today was. The next couple of days until we figure out who we’re going to play. You’re not just a guy that goes out there, plays basketball, sleeps, and goes back out there for a game, so it’s a ton of [free] time, but I think the guys that we have, we talk consistently, whether it’s here, group chat or our own separate conversations.”
On praying through his hand injury scare:
“When I had the hand, I obviously walked back and got X-rays of that. I’m sitting there praying about it. That’s my first go-to. I’m just sitting there praying that I’m healed, praying that I’m good, and I was blessed with it not being a fracture. For what it is, I can play with [it], and I was happy with that.”
On facing pressure after the title-or-bust comments made by James Dolan:
“I don’t think we look at it as a pressure situation. Obviously, we’re in New York and everything that we do is amplified. Whether it’s winning three games in a row [and] people crowned us champions. Lose three games in a row and people crowned us a team that’s tanking. You know what I mean? Our job right now is to stay even, to focus on that task at hand. If or when guys’ minds wander, we have a good enough team, a good enough camaraderie to hold everyone accountable and bring everyone back into the fold. So it’s not really pressure in terms of that. With that character of guys that we have in the locker room you’ll never see anyone that’s more judgmental or criticizes themselves more than ourselves individually. And when you’re your hardest critic there’s no other pressure. Because at the end of the day I’m going to look at myself in the mirror and wonder what I could do better and no one that’s not in my shoes can tell me what I could do better.”
On casually arriving with a puppy at Wednesday’s presser:
“Just hanging. Just vibing. We’re a dog friendly establishment. It’s good vibes around here. Whatever makes good vibes, we’re good.”
Karl-Anthony Towns
On finally being able to showcase his full skill set with Brown’s Knicks:
“I feel like I’ve always had this my whole career. It’s just I never had the opportunity to utilize that skill set.”
On being outbid for a prized collectible card:
“This has us SICK. Thought it was ours for the taking, until a last-minute NUCLEAR bid snuck in! Who has this card now!? We have to know!”
Steve Kerr
On the Knicks’ Game 4 offensive performance in Philadelphia:
“That first half was one of the greatest offensive displays I’ve seen in a playoff game. They are playing so fast. So aggressively. Every single guy is playing with incredible confidence. There is an energy and juice about them that jumps off the screen. It is hugely impressive watching them play. It’s beautiful to watch, but it’s not an accident. I believe Mike was the perfect guy for that job.”
On Mike Brown steadying the team during tense stretches:
“There was a vibe there at the Garden where you could tell everyone was on edge. That’s probably life in New York, but it’s also life as a contender when you are starting out the season with great expectations from fans, ownership and management. The beauty of Mike is he’s very comfortable in his own skin. When you go through these difficult nights like the one they had in March against us, Mike is exactly the right guy. When people are freaking out, Mike is the guy you want to steady the ship. He did that all year. Now, they are playing their best basketball. They are confident. fast, loose and aggressive. It’s beautiful to watch.”
On how far the Knicks can go this season:
“They’re already in the conference finals. They are really, really damn good. I think they will be a heavy favorite in the conference finals. Regardless, they are one of the very best teams in the league. I think Mike recognized that when he got there. He knew the great work Tom had done and he knew the foundation was there and he wanted to take it and see if he could build on that. It seems like he has.”
Rick Pitino
On the Knicks’ depth compared to other contenders:
“I think they have the best nine or 10 players. They may not have the best three, they have the best nine or 10. Their bench is excellent, [coach Mike Brown] uses them great. The improvement offensively and defensively in OG, the improvement in Karl-Anthony Towns away from the basket with his passing, Brunson is the most unique player I’ve ever watched in my lifetime. I love it. I root for the Knicks like they’re my team. I do think they are championship driven.”
On the Knicks’ ball movement compared to earlier in the year:
“They look for each other much better than before. If you watch Cleveland and Detroit, you know the ball is going to Cunningham or Harden is going to create or the ball is going to be in Donovan’s hands. Although Brunson is a great scorer, they are sharing the basketball so well that keying on Brunson is not enough to stop this team. Before the Atlanta series, keying on Brunson was the way to stop the Knicks. That’s no longer working because of their ball movement. They went from a one-on-one team to a ball movement, player movement team. They do a lot of different offensive things that are much more pleasing to the eye.”
On Brunson’s skill set and shot-making ability:
“How a player that size with that vertical can get off any shot around the basket, he’s got Tiny Archibald in him around the basketball. He has the best midrange game. He gets off any shot midrange and he’s become a great 3-point shooter. He’s just an amazing, amazing 6-foot, 2-inch basketball player. Pound for pound, inch for inch, maybe one of the best players I’ve ever seen.”
On home-court concerns and overall outlook:
“The only negative is the home court. Outside of that, I think the Knicks have the best team. Now OKC obviously is great, they’re the defending champions. But the Knicks are deep, talented, and the way they are playing offensively — I don’t mean 3-point shooting, I’m talking about the ball movement, player movement — it’s so much better than what I watched in January.”
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