Trae Young better keep gambling, cause dubs haven’t arrived at his shores yet.
The Hawks believed they’d defeat the Knicks, only to eat a sour L inside their own arena. Cold world.
Here’s a bunch of stuff from the protagonists, including unexpected hero Kevin Mac.
On Kevin McCullar Jr.’s opportunity:
“I just wanted to give him a chance. Threw him out there for a few minutes and he was fantastic, he earned even more minutes — I didn’t have him down for that many minutes, but he definitely earned them.”
On managing minutes while navigating the current injuries:
“I hope I don’t have to increase guys’ minutes.”
On rotation players stepping up amid the injury crisis:
“That’s what having a team is about. I feel confident in all our guys. Deuce has been out, Landry has been out, Josh is out now, we’ve got to go to the next man. Just want guys to give us what they’re capable of. Don’t want them to go outside their box. Give us hard minutes.”
On OG Anunoby’s ceiling and clutch play:
“I’ve said this to him. OG’s an All-Star if he wants to be. He, at his size, his length, his strength, his athleticism, his feel, he can do so much out there. He just has to impose his will on the game every single play. He was fabulous. In the clutch, he was awesome. Awesome.”
On Karl-Anthony Towns’ performance vs. Atlanta:
“I loved his aggressiveness. I talked to him in front of the team. When he screens and he rolls, we’re a different team because the pressure he puts on the defense on his roll is unbelievable. Because if he catches in the pocket — it’s a wrap. He’s getting fouled or he’s getting fouled and he’s scoring because his momentum is going that way and he’s so quick. He’s a monster when he rolls.”
On his approach against Atlanta:
“I just focus on whatever I can do to help my team win. I try not to make it like a me-versus-him type of thing. I just want to help my team win and do whatever I can. So that’s how I approach it.”
On officials’ calls on him and Towns and adjusting to them:
“Well, refs have meetings, refs watch film and they do their homework as well. And I think they go into games figuring out what they need to watch for. And KAT just has to do a better job of not using his off arm. And we tried to explain that to him. And he’s getting better at it. I think even the minor contact stuff that he does gets called for offensive fouls. So it’s all about an adjustment period. And then figuring out how to be effective without doing that. And control what you can control.”
On ignoring foul-baiting narratives:
“Who gives a (expletive) about what people say about you, what the narrative is. Help your team win. Do that and move on. Who cares what people say?”
On adjusting to offensive foul calls:
”I’m going to keep doing my thing. Maybe I’ll have to change my game up a little bit, if that’s what they’re trying to tell me I need to do. They didn’t tell anyone else that, but they’re telling me that. Maybe I have to do that.
”I get the hook part. But you know, there’s a lot of other things that I think they have conversations and do studies on. I’m going to keep lifting. I’m going to keep lifting.”
On focusing on winning despite the fouling issues:
“I’m just trying to put W’s on the board. As long as I keep impacting winning and doing what I’m supposed to do to help this team win is fine. We’ll figure out the other part. I still have my own personal questions about it.”
On the officiating explanations he’s getting from refs:
“You won’t like the explanations. You didn’t like them last year and they’re not getting better this year.”
On Tyler Kolek’s confidence growth:
“With Tyler, I think it’s one of those things where you either have confidence or you don’t. I think with all the work that he has put in, his confidence has grown in the league. You see people’s confidence in this league get stripped. With Tyler, his confidence is growing. It’s a test to his mental strength, his mental fortitude and the work he puts in.”
“You just have to stay ready at all times. Coach Brown trusts in one through 17 on the bench, and you just have to try to be ready when your number is called.”
On his mindset as a deep-bench player and comparisons to Josh Hart:
“Just staying ready until my number’s called, and happy we got the W. (Josh Hart) is my big bro on the team for sure. His energy is contagious. I learned a lot from him last year. And I went out there trying to make plays, winning plays.”
On the veteran leadership around the Knicks:
“We’ve got great veterans in the locker room. They always stay on us to be ready when our number’s called, and take advantage of it. Tonight I did.”