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Mike Brown
On Jose Alvarado’s availability for Monday‘s game after practicing on Sunday:
“I have not talked to our medical people.”
On Tyler Kolek’s role while Alvarado remains sidelined and going forward:
“Tyler is definitely going to keep playing while Jose is out. When he comes back, we’ll figure it out.”
On finally having a full practice over the weekend amid early-season issues:
“When you have an opportunity to practice,
you hope that you can address some of the things that bothered you and get a little bit better.”
On failing to deal with opposing bench players getting hot:
“I’m OK with that because sometimes guys are going to get hot and make shots. Now, are there little things we can do to correct it? Yes.
“But what I was concerned with is our first half inability to control the dribble-drive, OK, and then how bad our turnovers were. Those were the two biggest things that I had concern with.”
On the need for rebuilding chemistry after the championship season:
“You’re starting all over. It’s like climbing a mountain. We’re climbing a mountain as a team and we conquer the mountain, then you gotta come back down, take some time off, then you gotta climb another mountain. It’s the same thing. And when you climb that mountain the second time, you’re starting from base camp again. And if you skip steps doing that, you’re going to die. It’s not that tragic for us. When you’re sitting at 2-4, people equate it to that sometimes, but it’s the same thing, taking each step the right way and embracing it and trying to get a little better.”
On why the Knicks must experience growing pains again despite having won the title:
“If we don’t go through our growing pains and we can’t get through our growing pains, for whatever reason — because we don’t want to go through it being that hard again or we think we know or whatever it may be — if we can’t get through our growing pains, we have no chance.
“It’s like anything you do in life. When you complete something and you have to do it again, you’re not just starting right here [at the top] when you do it again. You’re starting here [at the bottom] and you’re building up. And sometimes, your second or your third year doing it, you’re getting here [at the top] a little quicker. But you still gotta go through all the necessary steps to get there.”
On the Knicks’ struggles finishing in the paint:
“If you think about it, if you’re shooting the way we’re shooting the ball at the perimeter, it’s like in football, if you’re not able to pass the ball, they’re gonna put eight guys in the box. It’s the same thing. If we’re not making shots, they’re going to do this [collapse in the paint] and it’s gonna be harder to finish in the paint.
“And so eventually, at least the green [high-quality] 3s, we’re gonna have to continue generating green threes but we’re gonna have to make some green threes. But in the same breath, while we’re not doing that, we gotta be better in other areas to compensate for our ability to shoot the ball right now.”
On the Knicks’ problems stopping Philly in the paint:
“They were getting in our paint left and right, right and left, and it was really, really easy doing it. If it’s a post-up game or something like that, OK, maybe, I don’t know. But to continue to have that ball driven in the paint, especially in the first half when they shot 5 of 17 or whatever it is from the 3-point line, was not good.”
On the Knicks’ defensive communication and inconsistent execution:
“It’s not just one thing. It’s a little thing here, little thing there, little thing there, and that’s why it adds up. We’re competitive when we need to be, and that’s why all our games that we’re in, we have a chance down the stretch.
“But trying to make sure we continue to do the little things throughout the course of the game is gonna be huge for us because we’re not doing it right now.”
On the Knicks failing to execute fundamentals:
“It was almost like we were just gonna show up and go hoop and not doing the little things that we need to do to go get a win.”
Jalen Brunson
On trusting the Knicks’ decision-making and not being afraid to make mistakes:
“We have the right intentions. We’ve just gotta be confident in our decision-making and don’t be afraid to fail. We have the confidence in this locker room to do it. We all work hard. We see it every day. Everything’s going to fall into place as it should be.”
Karl-Anthony Towns
On the condition of his sprained left wrist heading into Monday’s game:
“The wrist is doing its thing.”
On the Knicks needing to rediscover their championship form more consistently:
“We gotta find a way to be that magical team we were last year at a more consistent pace. You don’t always want to just wait until the end to find that magic. Lightning don’t strike twice, so we gotta be that team right now and we gotta continue to build off of what we did last year.”
On the Knicks’ offensive struggles and failure to execute:
“We just haven’t played our best, and we haven’t executed at a high level.”
Josh Hart
On the Knicks’ stagnant offense contributing to early deficits:
“I think when that’s happened, we’re just coming in a little stagnant offensively. Forced into either bad shots or turnovers. And then, you know, stops are harder.”
Mikal Bridges
On his affection for the Nets and Suns, his former teams:
“No matter them or Phoenix, people I played for, there’s always a spot in my heart for them and I always remember the time being there.”
On former Nets teammates still playing in Brooklyn:
“It might be just them two.”
On the Knicks’ practice session and correcting their mistakes:
“Just lock in. Obviously, we watch film and work on things that we gotta fix.”
On rebuilding the chemistry the Knicks developed during their championship season:
“Yeah, that’s why I think for us, we just gotta continue to grow. Last time we played was in June. I think [we were] probably the most polished as a team we were at the end of the year, as we should be. So, I know it’s tough to see last time we played to the beginning of the year, and obviously we should be better than we are, me personally. But it takes time and just not skipping steps and just kinda going through the process and keep learning, get back in that rhythm.”
Julius Randle
On returning to Madison Square Garden:
“I’m sure it’ll be a lot of fun. No, I don’t know nothing about (the Knicks’ winning streak against Brooklyn). I live in the present, baby. … Focus on what we need to do to get a win, build off of what we did [Sunday] and stick together as a group.”
On opposing fans taking over Barclays Center during Nets home games:
“I don’t give a shit. I’ve been on teams that weren’t good and didn’t have the excitement around them. Then you start winning and the whole arena is there to see your team and cheer. So I think that’s just part of being a fan. For us as a team, we got to give them something to root for.”
On whether he sees himself as responsible for developing Brooklyn’s next generation of fans:
“Oh, hell no. It doesn’t really matter what team I play for. I was at my son’s basketball game yesterday and it was like, Man, I’m a Nets fan. You’re going to kill it this year. Then I get on the other side and it’s, Thank you for everything you’ve done for the Knicks’ …”
On building a winning culture in Brooklyn and helping the Nets’ younger players:
“I definitely want to be a part of establishing a culture and giving the city of Brooklyn something to be proud of. I’m not here just to come out and get my numbers or whatever it is. I’m here to win a championship. I’m here to help these young guys excel and speed up their growth process.”
Michael Porter Jr.
On facing the Knicks after Brooklyn’s historic 54-point defeat at MSG last year:
“We’ve got a big game [Monday] that we should be very excited to play. Last year, when we went to the Garden, it was not pretty, and we should remember that and look forward to getting our rest [Sunday night] and going in there and being competitive. I know I’m looking forward to it.”
On opposing teams’ fans dominating the crowd at Barclays Center:
“When we play Knicks, Celtics, Philly, Lakers, it’s mostly their fans. It’s crazy.”
Joe Tsai
On the Nets’ embarrassment after the Knicks won the NBA championship:
“It doesn’t make us feel very good. It irates our fan base and it is embarrassing.”
