The Knicks started the preseason with a banger and banged up at it.
Everything worked reasonably well for this being the first game of a new, title-bound era in New York. Of course, there had to be something
to balance things out, so Josh Hart left the game with an itchy (we hope) back.
Here’s what the protagonists said before and after Thursday’s game.
Mike Brown
On his starting lineup decision vs. the Sixers:
“I’m definitely feeling things out. Anything can change at any minute. But this is what I want to go with tonight.”
On his expectations for faster play:
“It better not (slow them down). They better run. These are the best athletes in the world in terms of team sports. And these guys can get out and run, so they’ll get out and run.”
On Pacome Dadiet’s preseason and debut:
“He’s played well. We’d like to see what he does. See throughout the course of — especially preseason, I’ll throw somebody out there that may not expect to it, just to see how they react to the moment.”
On Josh Hart’s injury during the game:
“I didn’t know — I didn’t see. I think I was talking to the ref because as soon as he started to go down, I started to yell for a timeout. And so I didn’t see. Lower back soreness, we’ll see how he feels tomorrow. I didn’t see him go down. And I just saw him go down and he looked like he was in considerable pain when he was down but he’s day-to-day and we’ll see how he feels tomorrow.”
On Mitchell Robinson’s performance:
“We had a couple of guys who had huge defensive performances. I thought Miles (McBride) was great defensively, got a couple of steals, jumpstarted us off the bench. I thought Ariel (Hukporti) was fantastic, the way he sprinted and loaded defensively, the way he offensive rebounded … He played six minutes and had six rebounds. Fantastic. But the defensive player of the game went to Mitch. He was phenomenal. Played 18 minutes had 16 rebounds, 11 of them defensively but more importantly for a big, he had three deflections. So Mitch, good job. I’ll get a plaque for you Mitch. He was the player of the game for us.”
On the pace and first-game misktakes:
“We have to play faster, and we can play faster. It being the first time we’ve seen another colored jersey and so at times we looked a little confused – a lot of times – but we will be better. It was great because our guys got a taste of how fast we need to play. And they know we still have to take it three or four more notches.”
On building a teachable offensive system:
“I tried to put together some of the concepts that [the veteran Warriors] used, make it almost like just a system so that it’s easily teachable, in my opinion, and to where all the concepts fit and flow. And it’s out of two different looks. So I spent the six years doing that as an assistant coach while learning.”
On Jay Triano’s contributions to his offense:
“So [Triano] added some cuts, and there were two main cuts that he added within the concepts of what we were doing. And I was like, ‘Wow, these cuts are interesting and they’re nice. We want to add these cuts.”
On naming the new offensive cuts:
“Jay being from Canada, he dubbed them Canada cuts. So we have two different types of cuts that are mainstage within the concepts that we do. And they’re Canada cuts because Jay added them to the offense.”
On the nature of the ‘Canada cuts’:
“They shouldn’t be. I want them to be fierce and with a purpose.”
On how his philosophy evolved with the game:
“The game’s changed a lot. Back when I started with the Washington Bullets, it was more inside-out basketball. With San Antonio, it was inside-out with Tim Duncan and David Robinson. With Golden State and Steve Kerr, it’s pace and space. The game’s always evolving, and you have to evolve with it.”
Mitchell Robinson
On his performance and consistency:
“That’s kind of what I’ve been doing the whole time I’ve been in New York. Just continue doing what I was doing last year and the year before. So kind of been the same. Go work the glass.”
Deuce McBride
On adapting to Mike Brown’s offense:
“It’s been a fun adjustment being able to come in with coach Brown in a new offense. We’re playing with a lot more pace and space. It’s been fun to be able to create for myself and others.”
Nick Nurse
On Josh Hart’s scary injury:
“I thought something really bad happened. He wasn’t in a collision, did it on his own I think, those always are scary. He was in a lot of pain. I don’t know what the verdict was. Let’s hope it’s not serious, but I did think it was something very serious at the beginning. I was trying to get everybody’s attention, like, ‘Let’s go, get out here.’ Let’s hope he’s okay.”
Kyle Lowry
On watching Villanova alumni thrive in New York:
“I love those guys, man. Those guys make me proud. I was just the guy, myself and Randy Foye, we were the pros that came, but these guys took it to the next level of the ‘Nova Wildcat thing.”
On his place in the Villanova lineage:
“I’m the old guy. They always tell me to get out my face and go retire.”
On being recruited by Josh Hart:
“Yeah, happened for a half-a-minute. But they’re my brothers, my little brothers, they’re family forever. Appreciate what they’ve done so far in the league and I look forward to them being better than me and having way better careers than me.”
