Could it get any better?
I bet it couldn’t.
New York Knicks. Philadelphia Numbers. Bring it on.
Mike Brown
On the Game 6 scuffle and his glasses:
“When I got in the middle of it, [those thoughts] all went out the window for some reason. And the only thing I could think of was [the fact that] all I had was one pair of glasses.
“I cannot — I can’t see anything. Like, I can’t even see if you’re smiling at me or not. I’m blind as a bat. So I was like, ‘My glasses! My glasses!’ Because I didn’t
have another pair with me, and it was too long, too much of game left for me to coach blind. So [the altercation] helped me because now I will carry a second pair of glasses in my backpack.”
On Robinson’s fine and playoff physicality:
“The playoffs are a lot more physical than the regular season. Stuff happens. Everybody is human, we just have to keep making sure that for us we don’t do anything that costs us the rest of that game or the next game. I applaud all of our guys, our security guys . . . and then our players because again everybody is human and sometimes things happen and to get help from everybody else is huge. Then, even our assistants. When I went and turned and looked at the bench, I don’t know what Atlanta’s bench was but I know our entire bench was on the sidelines. It’s extremely important in that situation to not have anything result in a future suspension or anything like this.”
On the double-big lineup:
“They helped us get better. We had to continue trying to think of different ways to help put our players in the best possible position to win, and part of that is how can we try to throw the double-big out there — because both Mitch and KAT are starters on any team out there. And it’s — how can you try to get those guys on the floor? Because it makes us unique with the size. How can we get them out on the floor together? And as the series went along, we started to figure it out — and based on your opponent, it may change, I don’t know. But we do feel like Atlanta helped us get better, and we’re in a better spot now because of them.”
On the need for improving no matter the opponent:
“Well, you can always get better. It’s about us. And a lot of times, it’s about us even if we know who we’re playing. There’s plenty that you can work on without knowing who your opponent is because you’re trying to get better, or sharper, in the areas that make you who you are.”
On comparing this group to past Finals teams:
“The first thing is they’re resilient because in the playoffs you’re going to have a lot of highs and a lot of lows, which means you’re going to face some adversity, so when [that happens], can you stay connected? And this group can. So the connectedness that this group has is similar. The sacrifice that this group has is similar, the competitive spirit that this group has is similar and then the belief is similar as well.”
On Brunson’s screening being on par with some elite’s:
“Steph is good, but there’s one other person. John Stockton. He was good. Especially for a little guy, John.”
Jalen Brunson
On blocking out noise:
“I haven’t heard of it. And I don’t care.”
On potentially having home-court advantage through the ECF:
“I haven’t really thought about it. It’s one of those things where you can’t really worry about. You have to control what you can control. Focus on one day at a time and focus on the task at hand. Those things you try not to think about, because you just can’t control those things.”
On using the iPad during games:
“It’s reminding myself of technique stuff, for me. Small things can make a big difference when it comes to shooting or reads. Just being able to see things and learn from them quickly.”
On playing off-ball more:
“We had done it before. The frequency we were doing it, obviously, it was asked to do more of. Knowing if I get a good hit on somebody’s defender, it puts my defender in the position to switch. They were trying to keep bodies on bodies and not switch off me, and a good screen puts them in position to have to make a decision.”
On Robinson’s importance:
“He’s more important than I think we realize, hence why we had coaches and security and players doing whatever we could to try and stop him from doing any more damage than he did in Game 6. He’s very important to what we do on both sides of the ball. He’s way more important than I think a lot of people realize.”
Karl-Anthony Towns
On Robinson’s value to the Knicks:
“I forgot he wrote that on his ankle tape. I mean, Mitch is a big part of our locker room. What he does on the court, obviously I know he impacts winning, and he does a lot of things that sometimes don’t end up on the stat sheet but makes us come out with a W. So, Mitch is very vital for our locker room, for our team, and we’re always going to support him. We’re always going to stand behind him when he wants to, I guess, quote unquote ‘Stand on business.’”
On the need for resetting before Round 2:
“Just resetting. Understanding that we got to get ourselves ready for the next series. Obviously, today we don’t know, so we watch tonight, like all of us. But just making sure that we get ourselves ready to be the best version of ourselves first.”
On blocking out the East-best talk:
“Nah, we not listening to no noise. At the end of the day, we just got to continue to work on being the best version of ourselves. When we step on that court and give ourselves a chance to win every night, the only thing we got to do is in our locker room, continue to believe in each other.”
“No, no. I know you really want me to say yes, but unfortunately for you, it’s a no.”
On his day off after the Game 6 win:
“[The off day is] not as exciting as I think fans think. Yesterday was a great day to just rejuvenate the soul and mental. I just spent the whole day with my family. I took my niece to the mall in Jersey and took her to the park, took them on a pizza day, my niece and nephew. So kinda really just spending time with the family. I didn’t really do anything that people would think is exciting or anything, but to me it was the greatest day. It was the greatest thing to do on a day off, especially after a big win. I would love to celebrate it with no other people than my family, my niece and nephew.”
On his cameo in The Devil Wears Prada 2:
“It was an honor. It was an honor and it was awesome to just see the masses of work at work in the acting world, and to be able to see them just do what they do at the highest level, it was such an honor.”
Nick Nurse
On facing the Knicks:
“Listen, I think they’re very good. I think their starting lineup’s incredible, I think they continue to bolster their bench… I think they’re very, very good. I think it’s going to be a tremendous challenge.”
Joel Embiid
On Knicks fans in Philadelphia:
“I just have a message for our fans. Last time we played the Knicks, it felt like [Xfinity Mobile Arena] was Madison Square Garden East. So, we’re going to need the support. Don’t sell your tickets. This is bigger than you. We need you guys. The atmosphere that we’ve had the last couple games in Philly, especially the last one, pushing it to Game 7. We need all of it. If you need money, I got you.
“Knicks fans, they travel. They’re going to buy the tickets and there’s going to be some people that need the money and are probably going to sell tickets. But don’t do it. We need you guys. We got a pretty good chance. We’re going to need our support. We’re going to need them to be extremely loud.”
On beating Boston once and for all:
“It feels good to win. Obviously we got a bigger goal in mind. But finally beating these guys feels pretty good.”
On his knee health after the Game 7 injury scare:
“I felt great, I feel amazing. I was faking it.”
On his team’s mindset:
“We have a lot that we want to accomplish. We have a lot of work to do. No shades to the guys that have played here, but this is different. The fight is just there. I’ve been a part of some of these teams, and this team is different.”
V. J. Edgecombe
On the Knicks:
“The Knicks are a really great team. A really great team. Obviously, they’ve played together for a minute. They have a lot of great chemistry. They have one of the best starting five groups in the league and they play really hard.”
On his thoughts on MSG:
“I’ve played at the Garden. I love the Garden.”
Tyrese Maxey
On the Sixers’ confidence:
“We’ve had this weird swag about us all year. We’ve had this confidence in that we know who we can be. And, we know who we are. We have never wavered. This group has always believed in each other. This group really likes each other, and we want to see each other succeed.”
