Knicks Bulletin: ‘All the BS about what we gave up? It means nothing’

The Knicks nearly choked trying to eat a Hornet in Charlotte instead of a proper Manhattanite Thanksgiving banquet, with a final score of 99-98 on a forgettable afternoon.

New York had one more matchup to play before wrapping up their five-game road trip. Friday’s game looked like the easiest of them all. How wrong we all were. . . .

Here’s what Coach Thibs and a few other Knickerbockers had to say about a game they are surely thankful to escape with a dub in their bags.

Tom Thibodeau

On not finding excuses in the early tip-off time:

“Readiness to play—it’s a different start time, so I think you have to almost have a different strategy to get yourself ready to go.

“It’s part of the league. There’s all different start times. Sometimes it’s early early, sometimes it’s mid-afternoon, sometimes it’s a late start. I think it’s huge in terms of preparation.

“You study the league you see how important the first quarter is, so being ready to play is a huge part of it.”

On respecting the game and taking every opponent seriously:

“I say this to our guys all the time: you can’t get here without being a great player. One through 18, the players are very talented, so you have to respect that and you have to understand everyone’s playing for something.

“The urgency and intensity has to be great.”

On the win against Charlotte:

“I felt it was going to be a physical game and we were going to need energy—a lot of it—and so we just kept working the game, working the game and then found a way to win down the stretch.

“I’m looking for our improvement daily, so to come out of the trip with three wins—we’re .500 on the road now. We get a chance to be back home and concentrate on the improvement.”

On what he’s asking Mikal Bridges to do amid struggles:

“I say this all the time—look, Mikal’s going to be fine. If he were a rookie, I would be worried because you don’t know who the rookie is really. There’s not a body of work. We know Mikal has a body of work.

“I just want him to play his game. Take your shots. Mikal is not a specialist. He’s an all-around player.

On the perceived offensive struggles against switching defenses:

“The numbers tell you how good our offense is. Points per possession, we’re No. 1 in the league.

“The switching isn’t anything new. Every team that we’ve played has switched. Most teams are switching 1-through-4. If you have size at the point, you’re switching 1-through-4. Some teams are going to switch 1-through-5. So we’ve seen it all year.

“That’s why I say the body of work says what you are. The numbers say what you are.”

Jalen Brunson

On the Knicks’ comeback win against Charlotte:

“We came out really soft, made some runs, and then they made some shots where it looked like they just were going to get away from us. We kept fighting and found a way to get a win.

“A win is a win and we learn from it.”

On supporting Mikal Bridges:

“He’s one of us. We don’t leave anyone on an island. No matter what. No matter what the situation is, whether we’re playing good together or playing bad together, we’ve got each other’s back. That’s just how we are.”

On Knicks fans invading Charlotte:

“There’s no fan base like ours. Our fan base is the most ridiculous, relentless group in the entire world. I wouldn’t trade them for anything.”

Karl-Anthony Towns

On the challenging road trip and the win at Charlotte:

“Tough road trip. Just to add to the difficulty, I think all of us wanted to be with our families on Thanksgiving.

“I was really proud about what we were able to do [against the Hornets]. To stay connected. Games like this haven’t gone our way. So for us to get this win is a step in the right direction for our team.”

Josh Hart

On the perception of games against undermanned teams being easy:

“Outside looking in, obviously [the Hornets] got some key guys out. And they think, ‘That’s going to be an easy game.’ That’s not how the NBA works.

“That’s a good team with good young guys. Early start [noon tip-off]. Sometimes that’s the toughest games.

“We’re happy to come out with a ‘W,’ end the road trip with a win and keep it moving.”

On supporting Mikal Bridges amid criticism:

“We need to continue to build [Bridges] up. If you go out there and nitpick everything that he does, that’s only a detriment to him. So we’re all going to have a conversation about that. We all got to get him going. And that’s when we’ll get the best version of Mikal.

“It’s 19 games into the season—he’s a helluva player. He’s been to the Finals. He knows how to win. So we can calm down with all the criticism and nitpicking of a guy who has won every time he stepped on the court in any situation. And a lot of people can’t do what he does.”

“I know he’s not worried about it. I’m not worried about him. I think the media and people are killing him. He’s in a new situation. He’s in a situation where he’s played [19] games in a different role than he’s played the last four years. So it’s our job to get him going.

“And all the other BS about what we gave up, this, that, and the other, it means nothing. If we win—if we get a championship—ain’t nobody give a damn about how many picks we gave up [to acquire Bridges from the Nets]. We could’ve given up 15 picks, it don’t matter. At the end of the day, we’re trying to win a championship. He’s going to be a key piece of that. And we need to continue to build him up.”

Mikal Bridges

On taking responsibility for mistakes and accepting his benching as the best thing for the team:

“Go out there and win the game. That’s the biggest thing, just win the game. But yeah, obviously, I got to play better.

“With the opportunities I get, I got to convert. I had a lot of sloppy turnovers. Couple of times [where the opponent] scored on me getting into the middle. I’ll be better.”

On his struggles and last-quarter benching against Charlotte:

“[Thibodeau] made the right decision. I got to play better.

“I’ve been inconsistent. I’ve had some games where I’ve played good, some I haven’t. Just got to find a rhythm within the team. That’s pretty much it. Not even 20 games in, still just trying to figure it out.”

On the need for being more aggressive to earn trips to the charity stripe:

“Just trying to find ways within our offense trying to get to the line.”

Paul Pierce (Former NBA Player)

On Jalen Brunson adapting his game:

“I said that Brunson had to change his game, I like the way he playing because he’s being more of a facilitator too. And he knows when ‘It’s time for me to score now’. He mixing that up.”

On the Knicks’ offensive improvement under Thibodeau:

“What I seen from them offensively over the last week or so, they putting up over 130 points a game. I ain’t never seen this from a Thibodeau team.”

On concerns about the Knicks sustaining success in the playoffs:

“End of the year, playoffs and no depth, he run them in the ground, they need one more piece.”