The New York Knicks are off the schedule today.
What did you expect? It’s Saturday, go outside, take some fresh air.
Or if you prefer, read about what Coach Brown and a few others have recently said.
Mike Brown
On early shot quality:
“We ended up with 23 sprays for the game, which is pretty good. We didn’t shoot it well, and that’s OK. I thought we went through stretches where we took great shots. At the start of the game, we had a lot of great shots — the type of shots we wanted — and we missed, which I’m OK with, especially right now. I want them to keep taking those shots.”
On the need for the Knicks to not lose trust mid-game:
“After [the ball] didn’t go in through the first part of the first quarter, I thought our guys stopped trusting it a little bit. We started holding onto the ball too much. The ball wasn’t popping. The spacing wasn’t there. We weren’t touching the paint.”
On trusting the process over the result:
“I thought we had some good looks that we just missed. Especially right now, I don’t care if we win or lose as long as we keep trying to play the right way and trust it. We have not a good shooting team — [but] a great shooting team. We’re getting catch-and-shoot shots when our feet are set, the defense is collapsing, and then having to go back out. I’ll take that every day, any time of the day or night.”
On the need for consistency throughout games:
“I thought we got a lot of [those two-way stunts] until we started holding onto the ball and taking quick shots without touching the paint. We did take some tough ones, and in those instances, we’ll learn and we’ll grow. But we have to be a little bit more consistent with it throughout the course of the game.”
On team sloppiness and second-half improvements against the Wolves:
“I thought first half, we were little sloppy with it (the ball). We did improve in the second half by taking better care of the basketball. We ended up with 23 assists for the game, which is pretty good. We didn’t shoot it well, but that’s okay. I thought we went through stretches.”
On playing without a playbook:
“We want to play this way most of the time. We’ll have play calls because we want the ball in this person’s hands at this time and we want this guy here and that guy there. So we will do that. But right now, especially in the preseason, I just want them to be able to get used to playing this basketball and taking what the defense gives them.”
On spacing and floor geometry:
“Because Jalen filled the corner, it flattened the defense, whoever was guarding him was scared that he was going to get a 3-pointer, so they stayed out, which created the space for OG to get downhill. So little things like that, we look at and we emphasize because those are the great plays that are very small that won’t show up in the stat sheet that are going to make you a great offensive team at the end of the day.”
On emphasizing fundamentals:
“We’ve kind of restricted our guys to doing certain things. Again, we played the entire game out of our read-and-react early offense. We don’t have a single play call in yet. We play off of makes and misses. If a team makes, we do this; if a team misses, we do that. We just try to take what the defense gives us. So it’s hard sometimes because sometimes guys see an advantage or whatever and they want to attack it. But I think if you get great pace, great spacing, you touch the paint, you make quick decisions, you make ball reversals — if you get those things and you know how to play, it doesn’t matter what you do, you’re going to eventually get to a point where it’s gonna be hard to defend because the defense doesn’t know what’s coming. Something different is going to come every time.”
On redefining transition defense:
“Fast break, yeah, there are different things that we look at. I can’t remember what the rule is for the NBA in terms of — I think they just use shot clock, whether or not you score in the first six seconds, four seconds, whatever. There are other things we look at in terms of fast break points, which is why I said they had around 25 against us tonight because we weren’t always good at getting back with our next-play speed.”
On next-play speed:
“Whether we took a tough shot and now the ball is going the other way or we turned it over and the ball is going the other way, we’ve got to change like, boom, just like that. We go from offense to defense right now. If we take two extra [seconds] the opposite direction, now they’re running out on us, and they have an advantage in transition. They may not score it right away, but they’ll eventually swing-swing to a wide-open shot because we didn’t play with next-play speed all the time or we took a tough shot.”
On GM poll respect:
“I know they do it. I didn’t know they did it already. A lot of respect for you GMs.”
On ignoring outside opinions:
“Everybody is going to have an opinion. Just take care of yourself because if you start worrying about what the GMs thought or what the owner’s thought, or what the referee’s thought, man, we would be in trouble. It would drive us crazy. I know it would drive me crazy. So we just focus in on us and try to do the best we can for who we are.”
Jalen Brunson
On being deemed untouchable in trade talks:
“Team sources have made it clear that Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson was, as expected, untouchable in these talks.”
On adjusting to Mike Brown’s system:
“We’re getting good looks, and we’re really trying to hit home all the stuff we’ve been working on all preseason. In basketball, sometimes it goes in, sometimes it doesn’t. But we just got to do the things we know contribute to winning.”
On offensive learning curve vs Minnesota:
“Everything is new, so attention to detail is going to be key for us to get better faster. All the little things we pick up, and we learn, we can’t just skip over that; we’ve got to really understand that those little things make a big difference. For us that’s the most important thing.”
On Brown’s system and mindset shift:
“What we’re working on is just the basics of our offense and everything. It’s going to take time. It’s not always going to be perfect but it’s all about how we’re going to continue to trust it, continue to learn it. And when things aren’t going well, are we going to revert to who we were in the past or are we going to continue to get better with what’s new to us? So got to continue to trust it.”
On adapting to new concepts:
“Everything is new. So attention to detail is key for us to try to get better, faster. So all the little things we picked up and we learned, we can’t just skip over that. We got to understand that all those little things can make a big difference. And so for us, that’s the most important thing.
“[I] always revert to with things like that — adapting to new things — as a kid I moved out seven or eight times, so I always was learning to find new teams, new school, new friends. So everything was always new. So adapting since a young age is always something I had to do. So I’m not nervous at all.”
Mikal Bridges
On early offense structure:
“Just the pace and ball movement — the other team’s got to guard that. Them over-helping or trying to get back makes them scramble, and we got guys that can all make the right play. It’s just about getting to know each other, knowing where our spots are going to be. We shoot every day, trust one another, and try to find the right spots.”
On offense vs defense progress:
“Defensively, I think we’re a little bit more ahead of the offense. At that point, I think it’s more of a pride thing too, trusting your guys and [you] don’t want to get scored on offensively. And still trying to figure out our spots and guys on offense a little bit, but defense comes down to more heart and playing hard. I think that’s true [the defense is ahead of the offense]. But I think we’re still building in the right direction with both. Just keep stacking days.”
On structured vs reactive play:
“He just wants to implement playing fast because, honestly, especially the first three quarters, until mid-fourth, you don’t really need plays. You kind of just have concepts and you read and react and it makes it tougher for the defense, honestly, because they don’t know what’s happening because offensively you don’t even know what’s happening because you’re kind of just reading how you’re going to defend it. I think that’s fine. I think when the game starts slowing down in the fourth, the last five minutes, where each possession is a little bit more valuable [you need plays]. But the first three quarters, just going up and down, playing fast, trying to make the right read. I think you don’t really need plays.”
On Mike Brown’s coaching style:
“Just being on guys, holding guys accountable, preaching everything every single day. Him and his coaches – they all run a tight ship. You could tell that whatever we’re doing out there, they’re all on the same page, no matter what the situation is. And that’s a lot of credit to him because I think he’s the main leader, the vocal leader of his crew, and for everybody to be on the same page, it makes it easier for us players when they talk to us because any coach I talk to, you’re going to hear the same thing.
“So it’s been great, man. I love how he pushes us. Accountability. A couple plays, if he feels like you’re not doing the right thing, he’s going to let you know and why wouldn’t you want that? In the moment, some guys might be a little upset about it. But we’re going to get to where we’re going to get to. He’s ain’t going to be Mr. Nice Guy. He got to hold people accountable. He doesn’t do it in a disrespectful way. He wants greatness out of everybody. And just being accountable is great.”
Deuce McBride
On read-and-react concepts:
“I feel like at any time a coach can drop a play and you know exactly what to do, but to be able to read and react to what’s out there — because at the end of the day, he’s on the sideline, so we have to play the way we’ve always been taught. And that’s to move the ball, play the right way, and get guys involved.”
On trusting Mike Brown’s approach:
“He’s the coach. If that’s his philosophy, that’s his philosophy. We’re going to follow it to the best of our ability.”
Charles Barkley
On Giannis’ mindset and Milwaukee’s effort:
“You know, it’s interesting how these guys feel like they’re entitled to play for the championship every year. As a great player, you should feel like ‘I’m a great player, if I get any help, we’re going to win.’ You gotta give the Milwaukee Bucks credit. I wish a person would love me as much as the Bucks love Giannis. I really do.
“They went out and got him, Damian Lillard. They went out and got him Myles Turner. They have done everything possible to try to make the Bucks win again. So the notion that he doesn’t feel like they’re doing everything in their power, they have done everything.
“It’s unfortunate he feels like he is entitled to win a championship every year. Everybody wants to win a championship but the Bucks have done everything they possibly could. It’s disheartening for me to hear him thinking like ‘If we don’t win a championship this year, I wanna be out of here.’ I hate hearing that.”
