Here…
Come…
Mike Brown
On OG Anunoby’s status heading into Game 4:
“He’s still day-to-day. I had not followed up to ask any specifics. I just wanna let them know, ‘OK, when’s he gonna be ready to play?’ It’s all medical-related and it starts with [the training and medical staff]. All I want them to do is tell me when he can play.”
On the 76ers’ ability to rally:
“They’re a really good team, man, and they’ve already done it once before.
We addressed it, but the biggest thing is just trying to stay present, not getting ahead of yourself and however you can do that, try to do it. And the simplest way for me is just keep reminding myself, reminding people around me it’s one game at a time — but it’s also one quarter, one possession at a time and trying to lock in on each possession like it’s your last.”
On balancing playoff adjustments:
“What we’re doing now, I think, can have great carryover next year and down the line because we’d be able to expand on it the right way through a training camp and all that other stuff. Right now it’s a little limited, but there’s still enough options within what we kind of stumbled upon to make it effective, but hopefully as time goes on, we’ll be able to expand on it, and if we can get to it during this playoff run, great. If not, we feel pretty good about where we’re at, going forward even afterwards.”
On Mikal Bridges’ athleticism:
“He runs like a deer. His gait is beautiful, which makes him fast and it doesn’t even look like it.”
On the current Knicks culture:
“When guys are engaged like that 24/7 throughout the course of the year, it bodes well for the environment, for the culture and guys are actively trying to keep their mind present because when they get an opportunity, they want to perform well.”
On his trust on the full Knicks rotation and his players’ professionalism:
“As a coach, you love to see it. That’s why you give different guys opportunities at different times. Sometimes, you start Landry. Sometimes, you start Mo. Sometimes, you start this guy. And what hopefully it shows at the end of the day coming from me is that I have confidence in them, and not only that, your number can be called any time, so be ready. And our guys have taken that to heart. We’ve got a lot of good guys that are resilient. They’re fighters. And they’ve done a good job of keeping their mind on staying present in whatever we’re doing, and it’s showing when they go out there and get the opportunity.”
On deploying an “equal opportunity” offense:
“Anybody can be in any position. Anybody can set screens. Anybody can initiate it, but it’s going to take some time to expand on it.”
On offensive growth potential:
“What we’re doing now, I think, can have great carryover next year and down the line because we’d be able to expand on it the right way through a training camp.”
Karl-Anthony Towns
On the need to stay focused for Game 4:
“I just look at us as a team that’s trying every single day to stay in the present and find a way to win. Every single time we step on the court. We just got to stay in the present. The next game is the most important game. There’s a lot of things we need to clean up and we want to clean up and we have another game to do that. It’s about just staying about us.”
On offering condolences to Nick Nurse:
“I got to say one thing, I missed saying this. I told Derek the other day, I was so tired after Game 2. I feel like we’ve played five games already. Game 2, Game 3, but I didn’t get to say, my family, at least, wanted to give love and condolences to Nick Nurse’s brother and his family. I never got to say that after Game 2. I was exhausted, as you can see on the court. So it kind of skipped my mind in Game 3 yesterday. It skipped my mind, the mad house, media coming in and everyone trying to get out. I don’t care if you don’t write it or anything, but I wanted y’all to know that. I could’ve told y’all in the locker room but y’all was trying to get to every player, so just wanted to make sure that was known. Wanted to say that on TV, on the podium after Game 2, but I was just so tired. I was so tired I couldn’t even get to the Gatorade. I couldn’t even make another Gatorade joke. Really wanted to give my condolences to him. I haven’t been able to talk to him personally, but I know it’s real tough. I don’t know what he’s going through, but in a similar fashion I know how it is to have to show up to work and to have a lot of pressure on you to do something special when you’re kind of not fully there.”
On whether or not he had anything to do with the Knicks’ offensive adjustments this playoffs:
“I feel like we all had an opinion, and we were able to figure out what was best for our team, especially in a spot like that — down 2-1. I had my opinion, I feel like we’ve done a great job adjusting to have all of us be our best.”
On Mikal Bridges’ growth:
“I think that he’s always been athletic, he’s always been talented. I think what’s better is just to see the experience kicking in for him. He’s using that experience to help us and help himself. It’s great to see that his career has helped make him the best version of himself right now, today.”
On the timing of the Knicks’ offensive shift:
“I feel like the real change for us came before Game 4 in Atlanta. I think that’s when we really changed our offense. It’s been great. It’s been something I’ve talked about for a lot of the season, to feel like we can help our guys more. We made the right moves. [Brown] set the table for us to have this kind of run.”
On the alignment between the Knicks players and Coach Brown:
“It was the perfect time for all of us to really get on the same accord. There’s no better time to be playing your best basketball than right now. So shout out to Mike and really the whole coaching staff for putting us in the best position to succeed.”
On playing on Mother’s Day:
“It’s work. Just work to me. I’m glad we got a game on Mother’s Day. It gets me doing what I love and what gets me off of everything off the court.”
On trusting his passing chops:
“I feel like I’ve always had this my whole career. It’s just I never had the opportunity to utilize that skill set. It’s being utilized. My teammates have been in great positions for me to find them when they’re open.”
On making collaborative adjustments:
“I feel like we all had an opinion and we were able to figure out what was best for our team, especially in a spot like that – down 2-1. I had my opinion. I feel like we’ve done a great job adjusting to have all of us be our best.”
Jalen Brunson
On internal growth and outside perceptions:
“These guys understand that you guys only see the finished product. You guys see what’s on the court. You guys see what’s what when the cameras are on, when there’s media access. You guys don’t see the ups and downs of us talking things out. You guys don’t see us in practice trying to figure things out. And we all want to win. Obviously, there’s ups and downs to it. And we have times where we look disconnected and we look connected. That’s just team sports. That’s basketball. That’s sports. That’s life. There’s going to be ups and downs. It’s all about how you move on, how you get positive, how you move in a positive direction regardless of whether things are negative or positive. You got to block out the noise. You got to focus on inside those lines. You got to focus on just us as a team. There’s going to be times where things aren’t going your way. It’s how you respond. How you respond as a team is going to define who we are. And I think it took time. I think we still have a lot of room where we can grow. But it’s really key for us. I think our mental approach is a positive for us.”
On Mikal Bridges’ durability:
“Obviously, he’s played an unlimited amount of games in a row. And that’s just a testament to who he is.”
Mitchell Robinson
On his dunk over Joel Embiid:
“It’s just a basketball play. You’re trying to bait me. That’s a good one. But no, just playing ball, just happy. It’s part of this league.”
On not planning on using his poster on Embiid as a screensaver:
“Not mine, no. It don’t got no truck in it.”
Landry Shamet
On Mikal Bridges’ impact:
“I would take it a step further. There’s a ton of stuff that I would argue people don’t see that he does throughout the course of the game that’s far more important than just a couple of the big plays and coming up with a loose ball down the stretch. He does that for 48 minutes. So does his level go up and does he show up in big moments? Absolutely, but I would argue that he’s the type of guy that does that for all 48 and finds a way to do it every night.”
Josh Hart
On playing through thumb injury:
“It’s something I’ll revisit in the offseason. There’s people that played through this. They got (Kyle Lowry) on their team, who played through it and won a championship. So it’s something that’s doable.”
On Mikal Bridges’ defense:
“He’s going to take each matchup personal. When he gets into that mindset and that mode he’s a heck of a player. He’s doing an amazing job. [Tyrese Maxey] is a tough task, a tall order. The way [Mikal] is able to maneuver and navigate screens, do all those things, and on top of that, give us good shots, good minutes and a good quality of executing on the offensive end is great.”
Jordan Clarkson
On staying ready despite a swinging role:
“Never. I was just going with the flow, staying locked in. I don’t really think too far ahead. Whatever is in the moment is what’s going on. I got out the mud, bro. I was a second-round pick, damn near undrafted. I just stick with the grind and stick with the process, try to find ways to impact the game. I only care about winning. I came here for the opportunity to play winning basketball.”
Nick Nurse
On missed open shots steadily against the Knicks:
“There’s certainly an element of that for sure that has got us in the last two games. I don’t expect to make them all. But you make one of those, it’s a one-point game. Make two of them, you’re up two. I don’t know what else you can do other than create wide-open shots. Certainly, in Game 2, down the stretch there, all we did was have really good offensive creation. We just didn’t make enough. I can’t fault the guys’ effort and trying to do the right thing. We just need them to go in.”
VJ Edgecombe
On missed shots dooming Philly:
“We’re not making shots, we’re getting a lot of looks. We just watched the film. We’re generating a lot of good looks. Nothing is going in for us.”
On fatigue impacting the Sixers play:
“Obviously, fatigue is a factor. But fatigue’s a factor for every team this late in the season. If you want to win, that shouldn’t matter. We’ve just been missing wide-open shots.”
