The Knicks are back home playing basketball inside Madison Square Garden today.
Ja Morant comes to New York, who knows if for one last time donning the Grizzlies uniform!
Here’s the latest from Coach Brown and a few Knickerbockers.
Mike Brown
On the Knicks’ talent and offensive growth:
“Yeah, we’re talented. No matter what we do on the floor, we’re going to have the ability to score. But you take the regular season and you prepare yourself for the postseason. If you just go out there and play the wrong way and win, we still probably are going to score because we’re talented and we’ve got a lot of guys that can score. But it’s not going to help us later on.”
On continued improvement despite strong offensive showings:
“It is, but we’re still learning. I truly believe we can still play better, we can still mix it up. What we have to get cautious of is not settling. We’re moving a lot of bodies around, and we want to keep moving bodies around and make it hard on the defense. And if we do, and it becomes just second nature to us, then we’ll have a chance to be a pretty good offensive team.”
On offensive priorities and shot creation:
“We always talk about offensively, touch the paint and spray, touch the paint and spray. We had 18 sprays, which wasn’t bad. I thought we could have had more.”
On using Karl-Anthony Towns more creatively in the offense:
“We want to keep trying to move him around so teams can’t just sit at the top of the floor. If we can do that, then I think eventually the game’s going to be a lot easier for him. Because he’s going to be in places where teams aren’t used to doubling. One time he’s here, now he’s there, now he’s here. So that’s what we plan on doing with him. And he’s getting a little more comfortable every time we step on the floor.”
On third-quarter adjustments and consistency:
“If you want to be great in life you’ve got to find a way to be consistent. Be consistent. That’s the biggest thing. That’s what we’re preaching and talking about. All we did was just address our third quarters. ‘Hey, whatever we’ve got to do to come out, be locked in, let’s do it.’”
On the defensive response in the second half vs. the Nets:
“We addressed it. Our team, led by OG [Anunoby], because that was his matchup, we did a good job coming out and trying to be more conscious and aware of where he was on the floor. And he ended up with three points in the second half. … I didn’t feel that we played great defense in the first half, especially with them scoring 40 points in the second quarter. And our guys did a great job of tightening it up.”
On communicating with players:
“There are a lot of little things. It’s hard to explain to you guys to a certain degree, but our guys know it. We’ll show it to them. But I do think we can be better. And that’s what we should all be striving for is to be better. There’s still a lot of room for us to grow.”
Karl-Anthony Towns
On what fuels the Knicks’ 40-point quarters:
“It has to mean that we’re shooting at a good percentage, and we’re getting some good looks. Guys are getting stops, getting layups. I feel if I looked back at those 40-point quarters, I think about 10 of them are translated from our defense. So that’s about us finding ways to get stops and running.”
On the team’s defensive adjustments vs. the Nets:
“Feel like it was one of the games where we came out and played good defense. We had a lull in the second quarter, but we did a good job in the third quarter making adjustments and doing what needed to be done to win.”
On adapting to Brown’s system:
“I think everything we’re doing is still a work in progress and we’re trying to — all of us are trying to figure out how we can impact in the system most efficiently. I’m glad we’re learning through wins.”
Miles McBride
On what’s behind the team-first play and the Knicks’ offensive depth:
“A lot of talented guys playing the right way. I feel like anybody on our team could go out there and look to get their own, but we have such a great group of guys that are playing the right way and playing for each other.”
Jalen Brunson
On the need for defensive urgency despite a strong offense:
“We’re able to put the ball in the basket now, but we’ve gotta limit those 40-point quarters. We can’t just trade baskets. We’ve gotta continue to play the defensive side of the ball.”
On solving third-quarter issues from last season:
“I think we’re growing as a team. It was definitely a problem for us last year, third quarters, especially the playoffs, [they] were not our friend. So we’re trying to address it as best we can. It starts with the little things.”
On internal expectations:
“Whatever expectations you guys put on it, we don’t have expectations. We’re just looking to get better every single day, and with that being said, you can’t just say, ‘Hey, let’s get better at this.’ It’s about not being complacent and being more fluent in the stuff we run where everything is an instinct and we’re not thinking about what we’re doing. Everything’s a reaction and it comes seamless like that, so we’re working towards that. So yeah, the ball’s going through the hoop, but we can be a lot better.”
Jordan Clarkson
On the defensive impact of OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Mitchell Robinson:
“[Anunoby and Bridges] are probably the best perimeter defenders that I’ve played with, if not the best defenders I’ve played with. Including Mitch as well. All those guys do a great job of shrinking the floor, making guys speed up, turn the ball over, block shots, they’re all over the floor.”
