Nothing better than a Game 7, amirite?
Actually, it’s even better as the Knicks aren’t involved and just enjoying the bloodbath from afar!
Here’s the latest from Tarrytown as New York patiently waits to know its ECF foe.
Mike Brown
On supporting Mikal Bridges amid benching questions:
“I was just telling the truth. He can play, he’s been in this situation before, we’ve had success with him. So I was just basically answering the questions regarding him. He’s
earned the right to be there. He’s earned the right to do a lot of different things. And I was just reiterating it. He’s definitely an important piece of what we’re trying to do.”
On adapting offensive schemes during the playoffs:
“It’s a little complicated from the standpoint that we came in with what we wanted to do offensively. Then we had to scale it to a certain degree because it didn’t fit everybody. Then you fast-forward to the playoffs and you bring some of it back and you bring some new. We are not just adding stuff we did in the preseason. We added some new stuff that is similar to what we are doing, but it fits better with the personnel. Usually if you have a veteran team, especially at this time of year, they lock in a little bit better.
“The moral of the story is it’s the playoffs. So guys do things come playoff time, especially if they are veterans, that they may not do in the regular season or they may take for granted during the regular season. Maybe a little bit of that is mixed in. I don’t know. Maybe our group is locked in. They’ve been open all year to a lot of different things I’ve thrown at them. They are grasping or holding on to this tight, which has given us a chance to have some success.”
On his revelation about pairing Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson:
“I came to a little bit of a revelation with those guys. We feel it’s a little easier to play with them — not just defensively, but offensively, too.”
On how the playoffs force adjustments in real time:
“The playoffs — they make you think and adjust, and they make you do it in real-time because if you don’t, your season can end. You have some time in-between to mess around with things.”
On the importance of point-of-attack defense and team coverages:
“We have to make sure that at the point of attack, there’s ball pressure with a little bit of physicality, but without fouling, without sending a guy to the free-throw line. And then knowing it’s not just the guy that’s at the point of attack, but it’s all five guys guarding the basketball. And whenever the ball moves, all five guys have to move with it. And then lastly, mixing up your coverages but being able to understand the different coverages and being able to go back and forth between them pretty seamlessly.”
On uncertainty about whether the nine-day break is an advantage:
“I’ve been in both situations, playing while a team’s waiting and I’ve been waiting while a team’s playing. You can say a lot theoretically. You can say they’re going to be tired, but you can also say they have a competitive edge because they’ve been going at it for seven games and we’ve been off. You keep trying to do different things during the course of the downtime to keep them sharp, keep them focused and try to keep their competitive edge up as much as you can.”
On recalling LeBron James taking over during the 2009 playoffs:
“I was like, ‘There’s no way in hell I’m going in that huddle to tell him anything right now the way he’s cooking, I’m just gonna let him cook. I’m not saying anything to him.’ And he went out there and he just — he was amazing. That was the best seat in the house to watch.”
Karl-Anthony Towns
On building chemistry with Mitchell Robinson in the frontcourt:
“I think it’s been great to have more time with [Robinson] and to be able to understand ways to help him succeed on the court. That comes with just chemistry, time on the court, playing with each other. Throughout the year we’ve had those moments, and in the last year where we were able to build that chemistry — and it’s paid dividends when we were on the court together this playoffs. So it’s great where you could see that improvement actually happening and see the fruits of our labor.”
On not carrying over regular-season success into the postseason mindset:
“I’m super honored to say this is my third straight consecutive conference finals but in the last two conference finals, it’s been teams we’ve had a lot of success against in the regular season and found ourselves losing in the conference finals. You cannot see anything as an opportunity — ‘Oh, well the regular season said we had success, so it should translate in the postseason.’ It doesn’t work like that.”
On the value of strong perimeter defense for the bigs:
“Point of attack is important, it’s the most important thing. To have our wings and our guards playing defense at the perimeter at a high level, it makes my job easier but also makes our team better. Shout-out to them.”
OG Anunoby
On his recovery and readiness for the Eastern Conference finals:
“Getting better each day. Feel good today.”
On the current hamstring strain compared to his 2025 injury:
“It was weird. I stepped, I felt something a little bit. Tried to dunk… It wasn’t like the previous ones, for sure. So it was better than before. I never think about the past. Just dealing with it in the moment. It didn’t feel as bad as it had in the past when it happened.”
On staying ready while waiting for the other series to conclude:
“I think everyone’s excited for the games to start, so just letting the other series play out. So if it was tomorrow—just be ready whenever it is.”
Mikal Bridges
On OG Anunoby’s progress during the hamstring rehab period:
“He’s been back. He looks good to me. So, I think maybe the crowd, maybe the fans and media worried a little bit more, but I know how OG works and how his body is. I think he’ll be alright.”
On the impact of the Towns-Robinson pairing:
“[Their] rebounding for sure, and then KAT being able to roll and he can space, and Mitch just being an impactful lob threat just spaces the floor. And if you leave KAT open, I don’t think he misses if he’s wide-open. [The duo] just builds a lot for us.”
On embracing Brown’s trust amid lineup questions:
“It’s always great when your coach has got trust in you. Yeah, that’s great. And teammates staying with it, keeping me confident, as well. I think we all know the end goal is just trying to win games and do whatever it takes to win. Even in my mistakes, just try to do whatever it takes and know that I just gotta bounce back and learn from them.”
On staying present and improving each game:
“Just continue to play. I think that’s really what it is. You can’t look at the past. You learn from it, but just be present and do what you gotta do to get better. I think that’s really it. Just learn from each game and try to get better every single game. And that’s really it. I always try to play to help [the team] win and just keep trying to get better. That’s been the outcome.”
On the pros and cons of the extended break:
“I know you’re eager to go out there and play, but I think it’s just good to rest, get the body right and just keep working on your craft and working on what we have to do. So, obviously there’s positives, negatives in this situation, but I just try to look at the positives.”
On defensive responsibility in big matchups:
“It starts with defense. I think that’s the biggest key. Just do what my coaches ask and play hard, knowing the scout [report]. Just me personally, just trying to do the right things and then always knowing I got four guys behind me. Such a team defense that we’re [playing] and everybody just knowing what we’re supposed to be doing and playing on a string.”
Josh Hart
On the Knicks’ offensive flexibility heading into the conference finals:
“I think in terms of offensively, we can play fast. We can play slow. We can play through JB. We can play through [Mikal]. We can play through KAT. OG has been amazing. So we’re able to do that. Defensively, we’ve been able to put guys on really anybody. We had obviously KAT, Mitch [Robinson], Ariel [Hukporti], OG to guard [Philadelphia’s Joel] Embiid. When you have those kind of guys able to do that and then you’re able to throw multiple guys at a [Tyrese] Maxey, a [Paul George], it just allows your team to kind of play the game how that particular game is needed to be played. Then the other team makes adjustments and you’re able to adjust to that.”
On standing by his comments about Philadelphia as a sports town:
“You can’t be a sports town if another team’s fan base takes over your arena.”
Miles McBride
On the importance of perimeter defense in the Eastern Conference finals:
“It’s huge. Obviously, every round gets tougher. Different opponents, different challenges, so having a great point-of-attack [defense] on the perimeter is super important. And then trusting our guys at the rim to make plays or rotations. But it’s about energy and effort and just the whole team locking in.”
Jose Alvarado
On comparing the Towns-Robinson duo to the Towns-Gobert one in Minny:
“I think this [duo] is better. Mitch is mobile. He could guard pretty much one through five. KAT is just — he got better now. That was early in his career. So now he’s better, and it works out nice.”
On how Towns and Robinson complement each other:
“[That lineup] is important. [Towns and Robinson] complement each other really well. Obviously KAT is not a traditional big — [well] now he is, in this league. He can shoot 3s, post-up and pass, and Mitch covers up defensively for him. So it’s complementing each other at a high level, and I’m glad it’s clicking at the right time.”
