One more sleep to witness history.
The Knicks enter the NBA’s opening week as the reigning world champs and will see the banner(s) go up in front of the MSG faithful in around 24 hours.
How can one not be excited!?
Mike Brown
On Bruce Brown’s toughness, versatility, and fit with the Knicks:
“Bruce, he’s a winner. He shows a level of toughness and versatility — not just defensively; he can guard one through four, but even offensively, he can initiate the offense.
Our point guard’s not one that has to come down every play and break his guy down and make the game easier for everyone else. We have a system where we play out of concepts, and Bruce is good enough to initiate the offense, or he’s good enough to be off the ball. So he fits in with how we want to play on both ends, while giving us versatility on both ends. Having a chance to get to know him, he seems like a good guy. He seems like he knows a lot of our guys because he was in the same [draft] class as a few of them. So it was tough from that standpoint.”
On why the Knicks chose James Wiseman over Bruce Brown for the final roster spot:
“When you have a guy that’s 25 years old, that has the length and the athleticism and the talent as a James Wiseman, because KAT’s not athletic like that and Andre was once that, he still has some of it. But to have that at 25 years old, especially with where we’re at as a group, you look for guys that coulda, shoulda, but at his age maybe he still can be a coulda, shoulda. That vertical threat at the rim, the vertical threat defensively, how good he runs, you welcome that at his size and age and athleticism.”
On the significance of facing LeBron James and the 76ers on opening night:
“The reality of it, in coach talk, you want to say every game is the same. That’s what you try to impress upon your guys is, ‘Hey, when we step on the floor, no matter who’s in front of us, you want to give the same focus, energy and effort to the next possession in front of you.’ But because of the talk, because of who he is — he is a large figure not just in life, but in the NBA.
“You also gotta look at the guys they have on the team and the guys they’ve added and the potential of that team and what we accomplished and what we’re trying to accomplish again — all those storylines, with the social media and all that other stuff, it’s pressed upon you, pressed upon you, pressed upon you, so it gets larger than life in general.”
On whether the Knicks and 76ers could develop a rivalry:
“As a coach, you hope it doesn’t, but at times yes, you have to take into account that yes, it can be something that guys think, ‘OK, this is a big game.’ It gives you a little bit more juice, a little bit more energy because of all the stuff around it. Is it gonna be a rivalry at the end of the day? I don’t know. I don’t know where we’re gonna be and where they’re gonna be. … Because of the storylines and all that other stuff with the social media, could it be right now? Yeah, it’s a fun story.”
Josh Hart
On the cause of his right ankle soreness:
“Old age.”
On whether he will be available for the Knicks’ season opener against Philadelphia:
“We’ll see in two days.”
On anticipating the opening-night matchup against LeBron James and the 76ers:
“Wherever LeBron [James] went in the East, I figured that’d probably be our opening night [game]. That will be good for headlines and box office and those kinds of things.”
On the challenges facing the 76ers on opening night as they integrate their new stars:
“Obviously, we have the same team, but sometimes individuals’ expectations are different than what they were before. So it’s different. Especially a team like that, I’m sure they’re gonna have some bumpy times in the beginning of the year because they gotta get used to playing with each other. The media at that point [will say,] ‘They should blow it up and trade everybody’ and those kinds of things. That’s kind of the world we live in.”
On being tired of championship congratulations and wanting to focus on the new season:
“It’ll be cool. Obviously, getting a ring, hanging the banner will be dope. I think we’re excited about that, but also excited to kind of move on from it. You get tired of hearing the congrats. The stories are nice, at times, but we’ve gotta fully turn the page and realise that that’s not the team that we are now. We have to put the work into being a team that’s in a similar position next year.”
OG Anunoby
On the viral Halloween decoration recreating his game-winning tip-in in the NBA Finals:
“That was amazing. That was super cool. Very creative. It was really cool.”
Miles McBride
On the pressure of playing for the Knicks and the team’s championship expectations:
“Nobody wanted to be on a team that had this much potential. And (nobody wanted to) be the guy that quote unquote didn’t show up, didn’t do their job. … I think that New York pressure truthfully played a huge role. Everybody wants to play well, playing for that team. I wouldn’t even say pressure. I’d say confidence, in a sense.
“Like, you have the confidence that you’re playing in the greatest arena in sports, and you don’t want to be the person (who) isn’t locked in.”
Landry Shamet
On the Knicks’ willingness to sacrifice individual roles to defend their championship:
“We want to win for each other. We’re willing to take on different roles and know that we’ve got each other’s back. If Jose’s got it going and my minutes are shortened, awesome, and vice versa.”
On the lack of ego among the Knicks’ backup guards:
“I’ve been … a broken record about it, but you don’t see that. From a backup guard position, that’s very rare, where no ego or ulterior motives get involved. That’s something special that you want to be a part of.”
Jose Alvarado
On the competition and chemistry among the Knicks’ backup guards:
“We compete. We want to get each other better. In order to win, we need everybody on the same page, and we know that.”
Jalen Brunson
On the condition of his championship hat:
“Mine is still not washed; it’s in the bag, and I’m afraid to open it. It smells terrible: Champagne, sweat, cigars, food, beer, tequila.”
