The Knicks are undefeated after a strong outing on Wednesday.
Today, New York hosts Boston in a rematch from last year’s postseason.
Here’s what we’ve heard in the last few hours.
On Mitchell Robinson’s ankle management:
“I don’t think about that stuff. I allow our medical team to handle it. I’ll take the lead after they give me word because that’s what their job is. For me to get into that, I’m not an expert at it.”
On Ariel Hukporti and Tyler Kolek’s first game:
“I thought both guys came in and tried to do what they’re capable of doing. We don’t need anybody to come in and play hero ball or anything like that. Play to your strengths, and both of those guys, they can do some things out on the floor.”
On Tyler Kolek’s playmaking and defense:
“He’s savvy with the basketball. He gets in the paint, makes plays for himself, makes plays for others. He’s got to stick his nose in defensively, which he did tonight.”
On Ariel Hukporti’s potential:
“Ariel, he’s a great runner. He’s got great feet. He can rebound. He played the pick and roll very well and brings energy.”
On rotation depth and role definition:
“If both guys stay within the framework of what they’re capable of doing, they’re gonna give us great minutes over the course of the year.”
On offensive principles and shot creation:
“We had 21 sprays. We want to get to at least 20 a game where we touch that paint — because any time you touch the paint, good teams, they’ve got to protect the paint. But now those wide-open shots happen and I think we can even generate even more. I think we can generate 25 or 27 a game because we have that many players, in my opinion, that are capable of shooting the ball, snap-driving, touching the paint and moving it on when they need to off of two feet.”
On rotation experimentation:
“I like to play a lot of guys. I don’t know if I’ll play 11 guys every night but we like to play as many as we can.”
On finding an offensive rhythm and the need for teamwork:
“It’s all about finding the right thing at the right time and reading each other and making plays. Regardless of who is bringing it up, everyone is still a threat to be aggressive.”
On patience and improvement:
“We have a long way to go. We have a lot to learn, a lot to get better at. A lot of details to pay attention to, and — let’s just say I’m happy it’s Game 1.”
On shooting struggles in the season opener and his comfort level under Brown’s system:
“I’m very comfortable shooting the ball regardless of however I shoot the ball. So, I mean, I wasn’t comfortable tonight, 5-for-18, but I have a comfort level I’m very confident with.”
On mindset and daily approach:
“Yeah, take it day by day. That’s all we’re thinking about. We’re not thinking about nothing else but what tomorrow is gonna look like. Are we gonna learn from this? Happy we can learn from a win and then we got Friday. So that’s how we think. Just take it day by day and game by game.”
On the new offense and player movement:
“It’s been great. I feel like we have a lot of different guys involved in actions, not necessarily scoring but just involved in actions, touching the screen, just body movement and player movement. A lot of guys out there benefitting.”
On lineup experimentation:
“The coaching staff has been experimenting with a lot of different lineups in practice and a lot of different looks. Just really felt great to be able to go out there with your guys, and it doesn’t matter who is out there. Just going to step up and get the job done.”
On championship expectations:
“I feel all 30 teams in NBA are walking in saying the same thing. It’s unfair just to say that’s for us. I think every team walks in saying the same thing. We’re just focusing on being the best version of ourselves every single day. Every year, you have to earn the respect of the city. Continue to earn the respect of the city and give the fans something to cheer for. Just be the best version of ourselves when it comes to that point, when the postseason rolls around and play our best basketball. To build as a team so we can play our best basketball when we need to.”
On chemistry with Jalen Brunson:
“I think no, because I think one, it’s his talent level that makes it easy when you have someone that talented who’s so dynamic and impactful with the ball in his hands. But two, I think that’s just who he is as a person. Where our team was at last year and walking in that locker room, being comforted by all the guys in there and shown the ropes pretty quick. On top of that, just having amazing guys that made it easy to come to work and easy to adjust to this new change of scenery for me. It’s because of the teammates I’ve had that made the transition so easy. Shout out to the fans who have respect for me and allowed me to figure things out while I was starting my New York career.”
On Brunson’s strengths:
“He’s just very cerebral. He has a great basketball mind. On top of that, his ability to extend plays with his footwork. He does a great job of getting to his spots. He knows where he wants to get to, he knows how he wants to impact the game offensively. He does a great job of impacting the game in the winning aspect as well. He’s Clutch Player of the Year for a reason. He impacts winning.”
On the relationship with Brunson off the court:
“He’s different, he’s a great friend. He’s very funny. He definitely makes people laugh a lot just by who he is. We have different personalities, but I feel like also too, we’re a little bit of the same off the court. Funny enough, the person who I think is known for being the most social is me, is probably less social off the court than JB is off the court. So definitely it’s something intriguing. I didn’t expect that when I got here.”
On playing for his hometown team:
“It’s something special. I never thought I would have the opportunity to do this, and now that I’m here and I’ve been able to live out dreams I had before the NBA, of being back home and playing for the team I grew up rooting for, it’s special. It’s amazing, and to be able to have my grandmother and my family, especially my Dominican side of my family, come to a lot of my games last year, was really special. To be able to have them by my side, to see us do something historic, and to see my grandmother have such respect by the fans we have here, to see her grandson have such respect by the people. It made me proud to know that I was making her proud.”
On winning a title with the Knicks:
“It’s always the goal. It’s been the goal every year. For us this year, we’re just going to continue to stay in the present. Just worry about each game that day. Continue worrying about winning that day, and we’ll let the results speak for themselves at the end.”
On starting with Mitchel Robinson out:
“It’s a great opportunity to show what I can do.”
On feeding info to the feds:
“Informant? Nah nah nah, this is lunch… This is my lunch, man. I didn’t get to eat it over there, man. I was talking too much.”
On Rachel Nichols and the media:
“I’m good for all the trolling. That’s cool, but Rachel Nichols is foul… She used my video and she actually wrote that I possibly snitched. Two of them are gambling on NBA. One is throwing poker games and robbing his friends. It ain’t got shit to do with me. I see the word ‘mafia,’ but the only faces I see are Black. … International crime bosses: Blacks.”
On avoiding organized crime:
“I watch enough movies to know the last group you want to snitch on is the mafia. I watch Dateline. They still ain’t found people since 1947. I like my YouTubing career.”
