Is this the longest week in Knicks history?
New York keeps resting ahead of their semifinals matchup against the Magic, with a ticket to the Cup Final on the line on Saturday.
Here’s some of the stuff we’ve heard of late.
On the team’s two-way potential:
“With the weapons and skill sets we have offensively, we can be a phenomenal offensive team, too. So I don’t think it’ll be just one side of the ball. I think we have a chance to be a high level team on both sides, and it’ll be interesting when we get there.”
On Jalen Brunson’s first-quarter performance vs. Toronto:
“They came out and kind of hit us in the mouth to start the game. They were physical on both ends of the floor, really pressuring the ball and getting up in the passing lanes, trying to make it difficult for us offensively. We were kind of stuck in mud a little bit on that end of the floor, and Jalen did what he was supposed to do. He bailed us out offensively in that first quarter. We were able to score with them, or keep it close, because Jalen had a big first quarter, which he’s obviously more than capable of doing. That’s just who he is, when you’re talking about MVP candidate of the league.”
On Brunson’s dealing with increasing double teams:
“He was really patient with it. He played off of two feet. He made on-time, on-target passes. He was fantastic when they started sending two at him, whether it was to hit them or it was to blitz them in a pick-and-roll. I also have to give the guy that hunts in the middle of the floor and the rest of the guys that space the floor the right way, I gotta give them a lot of credit too, because they helped Jalen make his decisions easier.”
On slowly-but-surely finding their peak:
“We’re starting to figure out who we are. I’ve said this before, early in the season, we had a lot of injuries during the preseason, so I didn’t have a good feel for this team or as good a feel as I needed to have. And that’s part of the reason we struggled on the road. It’s a lot of the reason why we struggled on the road to a certain degree. Once I started getting more comfortable it helped the group get more comfortable.”
On OG Anunoby’s versatility:
“The versatility that OG gives us, it’s unbelievable. Having that size and versatility from OG defensively is huge. He can guard one through five. Then you flip it, his shooting, his ability to attack the rim, all those things, at his size, are huge for us.”
On the team’s defensive recovery on Tuesday:
“I just thought we played much better defense than we played in the first quarter. Their fast break points in the first quarter were great. We did a great job of recovering in the second. We did a good job playing Knicks basketball, getting turnovers, playing fast, getting out on defensive rebounds and steals and capitalizing it into points.”
On watching Brunson’s performance:
“He’s just special. I’ve said it before. When you have one of the best players in the NBA on your team and you get to see him doing what he does at a high level it’s always fun. Yeah, unfortunately, I had a front-row seat to watch it, but it was cool. It was cool to watch. It was cool to watch and not having to be thinking if maybe he misses it. But he wasn’t missing it.”
On the NBA Cup experience:
“It’s something that they just started two years ago. Third year, right? Yeah, I mean it’s new, so of course we want to see how it is, get the experience of it. They also got a country concert [at the Sphere in Vegas], so I can go to that — Zac Brown.”
On OG Anunoby’s impact in the quarterfinals win:
“OG, he was all over the place. He really helped start that run and then we were able to get stops, play fast, get out in transition and play to our strength. Huge shoutout to him, really changed the tide of the game.”
“I’m just trying to do all the little things coach has been emphasizing. Pushing the ball in transition. Being physical on defense. Getting into the ball. Stuff like that.”
“I just think it’s attention to detail, like I was saying. Guy my size, I got to be exact on everything. I got to be in the exact right position on defense. In the right spacing on offense. I can’t be a little bit off. There’s no margin for error there. So just try to be right in everything I do.”
On offseason strength work:
“For sure. I think every summer you hit the weight room a little bit more because you have time to focus on that area. In the season you’re still lifting, but it’s more maintenance stuff instead of building muscle. Because you have a game every day and you can’t be tearing your muscles down in a lift when you need to use them in a game. So every summer I work hard in the weight room, try to add to what I can.”
On shifting his offseason philosophy:
“You definitely change. I was actually doing less on the floor. You can look back on my college career (at George Mason and Marquette) and all that and say I overworked to get to this point and that’s what I had to do. And now I have to change that philosophy. Because once you get here, you have to work smarter. I was killing my body. I was never fresh. I was never feeling my best. So now, coming into the summer, I wanted to feel my best in order to go harder on the floor, go harder in the weight room. If you go 100 percent all the time in shorter bursts, it’s better than going 75-80 percent, but you’re doing more. Less is more sometimes.”
On overtraining in college:
“Yeah, in the offseason or preseason, we’d work out 45 minutes before practice, and we’re having a full college practice, which is much different than the NBA; we’re getting up and down for most of the practices in college. And then gameday is more walkthrough stuff. So work out before practice. Spot shots after. We get out of there around 4, 5 o’clock. Back in the gym, 8:30. Every single night. I didn’t miss a night. A lot of guys say that. But I really did not miss a night. I had this anxiety or fear of if I wasn’t in the gym, I wasn’t going to do good the next game. … All that kind of stuff, you kind of mature or grow out of that. I know the work I put in the past and I know the work I continue to put in. And that’s what’s going to hold weight in any game or practice or wherever I go for the next competition. It’s not what I did the night before, that’s not going to hold me. It’s what I did two years cumulative.”
On adjusting his role in the Knicks offense:
“It was fun [in college]. Like you said, I had the ball in my hands. I was scoring. I was making plays. It’s kind of just getting familiar with these guys (with the Knicks) and them getting familiar with me. I keep the ball in my hands an extra half-second, pull up at the baseline and guys are finding spaces, they’re finding cuts. In college, that’s what it was — I’m keeping the ball in my hands to make a play for somebody. Not necessarily getting off it early like I am now. Also, you have better players around you now. So getting off early. Move the defense around. Better defensive players as well. But [if you] move the defense around, it’ll come back to you. And you play in actions from there. College was much more random and [had] a lot more freedom. Now, I’m trying to find my role and find my way. So just trying to fit into that and keep the structure of the offense and make it look clean when I’m out there is what I’m trying to do. But like anything, once you get a little bit more rope, it’s a little bit more different.”