The East is so bad we might on the other side of the bracket…
…that we’ll have an anticipated ECF matchup in the second round of the playoffs.
Knicks vs. Celtics for an NBA Finals berth. You bet?
Mike Brown
On adjusting the offense around Brunson and Towns:
“Obviously, trying to get KAT the ball in different spots on the floor helped out a lot and took some of the pressure off him. But in the same breath keeping him involved by using him as a decoy sometimes
or a screen setter sometimes. Or sometimes you have him receive a screen and then get in back involved in the action somehow some way.”
On Brunson’s coachability:
“Jalen is about as coachable as they come. If I had to coach his father, it might be different. Sorry Rick. Jalen is right up there. He’s up there with the Steph Currys of the world. They have a unique relationship and I enjoy every aspect of it.”
On deciding who will get more plays between KAT and Brunson:
“(We go) by feel. Obviously, trying to get [Karl-Anthony Towns] the ball in different spots on the floor helped out a lot and took some of the pressure off him. But in the same breath, keeping the ball by using him as a decoy sometimes or a screen setter sometimes or sometimes you have him receive a screen and then get back involved in the action somehow, some way. The thing about him, he’s a great screen setter. He has a really good change of pace where he slips and stuff like that which can cause confusion.”
On the team’s readiness for the playoff challenges:
“I believe they’re ready. You know, this group’s a relentless group. They’re an experienced group. They perform best, it seems, when their backs are against the wall. So I believe our guys are ready.”
On spacing in the offense:
“If our spacing is not on point, none of that stuff can happen. Your spacing has to be on point, and your screening has to be good, and your cuts have to be hard and sharp.”
On chosing Alvarado over Shamet:
“It’s a little bit of a story of how it evolved. We won Game 1 with Landry as the backup point guard. I made a shift in Game 2 and put ‘Deuce’ [Miles McBride] as the backup point guard, and it threw our guys off a little bit when they came out on the floor. So we needed a true point guard on the floor to settle us once we got a little bit discombobulated. And when we threw Jose out there, he played well. And so I gave him another opportunity and then another, and he played well. So that’s kind of where we are. I said this before: Everybody has to be ready to play because anybody’s number can be called at any time. Similar to Jordan Clarkson during the course of the year, Jose wasn’t playing at the end of the year. He didn’t play the first game of the playoffs. But he stayed present, and when his number was called, he performed.”
Jalen Brunson
On how to handle Atlanta’s double-teams:
“Find the open man. There’s two on the ball. Someone has to be open.”
On never-ending adjustments throughout the playoffs:
“Throughout a series, there’s always going to be adjustments. I think whatever team loses, they have to figure out what they did wrong and how they’re gonna adjust. And so, I think it’s just constant adjustments and a constant chess game. You see what move they make and you come back with a different move.”
On the playoffs motivation:
“This is what we work all year for, what you work all summer for, for an opportunity to play in the playoffs. There’s not a lot of motivation left that’s needed, really. It’s just, this is the opportunity for teams to go and put their names in history if they want it. So, that’s the only motivation.”
On whether the Knicks are complacent with the 2-2:
“No, this is what we work all year for, what you work all summer for, for an opportunity to play in the playoffs. There’s not a lot of motivation left that’s needed, really. It’s just, this is the opportunity for teams to go and put their names in history if they want it. So, that’s the only motivation.”
Miles McBride
On Brunson’s willingness to share the ball:
“I feel like that’s who he’s been. I think he does a great job of gravitating multiple defenders to him. Teams are gonna do that on purpose. He does a great job of getting off it and trusting his teammates to make plays.”
On the Knicks’ desperation heading into Game 5:
“We just have to have a higher level of desperation, because we know they’re not going to come in and ease into this game. This is the playoffs. Nobody’s just going to hand you a win, hand you a game. Obviously, our two losses were very close games, but you don’t lose the games always at the end of the game. It’s a possession here or in the first half when you missed a box out, or somebody didn’t run to the lane and there wasn’t anybody to kick it out. So it’s little things like that that we’re more focused on and have to be focused on moving forward.”
On guarding CJ McCollum:
“He’s crafty, he has a high IQ…he’s not overly fast or athletic, but he plays with a pace that’s elite.”
Karl-Anthony Towns
On playoff swings
“Experience teaches you a lot. Just because we won one game, the playoffs is always, you win a game, you’re the best team in the world; the highs are high. And when you lose, you’re the low of lows and the worst team ever. So, just staying on the way and being in the middle ground and just consistently trying to find ways to get better and improve as the series moves along. Next game is gonna be the most important game, the most desperation we need to present to the fans and to ourselves.”
