A trap game against the Hornets saw New York lose its first game in weeks.
The Knicks could have clinched a postseason berth but failed to do so, with their next chance on Sunday…
…against the reigning champs OKC Thunder. Uh, oh.
On trying to match Charlotte’s physicality late by benching KAT for Mitch:
“I just thought when we had Mitch in there with certain guys, we were able to match their physicality. And we made a run. But we were down 20 at that time. And versus a good team on the road, that’s tough to do.”
On the never-ending fine-tuning before the postseason:
“We’ve gotten to that point. We added some plays, fine-tuned some plays, stuff like that. We’re tinkering here and there. But nothing major like we did before all-star break, January time. We’re trying to fine tune it and let our guys get comfortable with what we’re doing on both ends of the floor so they can add their own stamp to it.”
On being outrebounded by the Hornets:
“They just kicked our behinds on the glass. We need more production on the glass than what we got from a handful of guys. If you’re going to go on the road and let a team outrebound you 43-24, it’s not even close because we didn’t put bodies on bodies. We didn’t hit first.”
On poor pick-and-roll defense on Thursday:
“Our pick-and-roll defense wasn’t good. And part of the reason why it wasn’t good is because they set great physical screens. And we didn’t do a good job protecting one another in the pick-and-roll.”
On adjusting offense for Karl-Anthony Towns:
“I had to adjust to him…and that’s what a season’s about. We’re not playing the same way offensively as we did to start the year. So I had to make some adjustments to try to figure out how I can get him involved a little bit better, get him to feel a little more comfortable and it’s showing a little bit. He’s obviously put in the work but … it’s a two-way street and it’s good to see him playing at the level he’s playing at right now.”
On simplifying Towns’ role at power forward:
“When he is at the four spot, we’ve really simplified it so that he doesn’t have to think as much. And when he doesn’t have to think as much, he can just react. He loves being at the top of the floor; he’s not always there, but we’ve added a couple more things that put him there with appropriate space. And then we found a post up and an iso situation for him that is pretty good from a spacing standpoint in how he likes to operate. Those things, we didn’t have at the beginning of the year for him. So again, he’s made adjustments, he’s kept working, he continues to work but as the head coach I have to make adjustments, too. Especially with him being one of our two best players.”
On Charlotte’s pace and energy:
“They played like they were shot out of a cannon. I felt like we were a step slower in a lot of their actions. They were pushing that pace. Obviously, they got Melo pushing the pace a lot, but they have multiple ball-handlers in that unit. They don’t just rely on him.”
On being a step slow in the loss to Charlotte:
“Obviously they played very well. They were physical. I just felt like we were a step slow. I think that’s when the other team is playing at that pace with that physicality and you’re a step slow it’s not going to be a good day.”
On whether or not he’s already monitoring the standings:
“Maybe a little bit. It’s still kind of early. There’s a cluster of teams that are really close in the standings. Maybe in like four or five games I’ll look at it.”
On the upcoming expansion, fees and player share:
“We need to get a cut of that.”
On Stephen A. Smith’s takes on the Knicks:
“For me, Stephen A as a part-time Knicks fan needs to shut the hell up. He barely knows guys that’s on the team.
“When Stephen A. rolls up to MSG with a ‘New York’ on his chest and ties up his sneaks and plays for us, then I’ll listen to what he has to say.”
On the need for a better approach to games during the home stretch:
“Unless we change our approach, we ain’t doing shit special. Keep that bullshit up, myself included.”
On supporting teammates when benched late against the Hornets:
“I just do my best to cheer for my teammates, and whenever my number is called, be the best version of myself for my team.”
On finding pride in playing through soreness:
“I damn sure haven’t felt my best all year, all day. But I want to play. I love playing. I do believe in the philosophy that there may, especially at MSG with how expensive the tickets are, there may be a family or a young kid who has saved up all his money to watch me play that one night, and for me not to be available would be disrespectful to that kid and to that family. As long as I can play, I’m going to be out there playing, hopefully give that kid a show.”
On clinching a playoff spot:
“Obviously, it means a lot when you clinch a playoff spot. We’ve got to continue to find that 1% every day getting better. Just because you clinch a spot doesn’t mean you’re supposed to win in the playoffs. It just gives us a chance.”
On adjusting to a new role this season:
“I just know I had to change. I had a lot of adjustments this year. I had to change my role, what it usually has been. I had to adjust my game, adjust to a role I haven’t been part of in my career. But I’m happy that, you know, one thing about me is I always fight through adversity, I fight through whatever change there has to be. I’m willing to sacrifice to do whatever it takes for this team to win. I’m glad that I’m just being a star in my role and I’ve been able to find different ways to impact winning in my role.”
On reviewing the 65-game rule as an NBPA head:
“We’ll step back and take a look at it, and we’ll see what we can do to help everyone and make it a compromise where the fans know that we’re trying to play and also the players are taken care of.”
On Charlotte’s improvement:
“Yeah, 100 percent. From the outside looking in, it looks like they all bought in to playing a certain style and bought in to playing together. And they looked great.”
On Towns needing to assert himself:
“He’s just gotta have the want to. He’s gotta want that. I’m sure coaches and his teammates are talking to him about that. He’s gotta want that. He’s gotta want that for himself and for his team. And if he takes that approach, that mentality, nobody can guard KAT. No one. This guy is so talented. The things that he can do on the basketball court — something at that size, when he puts his mind to it, he can’t be guarded. Because he has so much that he can give you, whether it’s inside, outside, his passing ability, setting screens, popping back for threes, the driving ability, finishing at the rim, he can do a lot of things. But it’s up to KAT to put his stamp on these games.”
On the Knicks supposedly losing their defensive identity:
“I don’t think they’re missing anything. I think they have everything they need. I think what’s wrong with the Knicks is they lost their identity. Thibs had those guys last year playing defense every single night. Tough defense, that was their identity. They hung their hat on the defensive side of the ball. So when the team wasn’t playing great offense, defensively, they were able to lock down and still be able to pull out games because they have a closer in Jalen Brunson. That’s off-kilter this year. There was a lot of inconsistency. Then you look at Karl-Anthony Towns, there’s a lot going on with him where people wanted more out of him.”