The Knicks are coming off putting the clamps on two different Eastern Conference foes in as many games played last week… to widely varying results.
They limited Orlando to a meager 74 points last Friday while scoring 98 themselves to clinch the win entering the weekend, but then on Sunday they could only score 73 points that weren’t enough to beat a Sixers squad that was, once more, limited to just 79 points by New York.
Everybody has moved on from that stinky performance and the Knicks are expected to welcome back—finally!—one of their best defenders and all-around players on Tuesday. Here’s what the folks said following Monday’s practice at the Tarrytown facilities and before taking on Philly for the second game of this mini-series.
Tom Thibodeau
On OG Anunoby’s current status and potential return to the court on Tuesday…
“I think it’s a normal protocol. He’s had to meet markers along the way. And the final one is going back to the doctor to make sure he signs off on it, as well. Our medical people, the doctors, him. It’s a combination of everybody.“
“He’s real close. We have to let it play itself out. I feel good watching the way he’s progressed, just everything he’s been cleared to do. He’s taken contact. He’s gone through practice. His conditioning is good. We are hopeful.”
On Julius Randle’s rehab progress…
“Very light (contact). He probably won’t know (when he’s ready to play) until he gets out there. He’s going to have to take a hit and know he’s OK. It’s just keep doing your exercises. He’s working and doing all the work multiple times a day.”
Josh Hart
On Tuesday’s rematch against Philly following Sunday’s stinker..
“I don’t think we can play as s—ty as we did [Sunday], so on to the next one—it’s just move on. We have the same opponent, we know where we made mistakes, and we just gotta come out and be aggressive.”
On finally having some players back from injury for the final month of play…
“It’s tough to win games or sometimes even compete in games when you’ve lost three, four starters at a time. I don’t think any team was built to weather that kind of storm.”
“I feel like we did as good of a job with the injuries that we could have. OG’s getting back soon, Julius hopefully soon, Mitchell hopefully soon. We know we’re a better team with those guys.”
On the Knicks’ last few games and losing matchups they should have won while staying in the run for the no. 4 seed…
“I think at one point we were like, 2–8 or 3–7 in the last 10 or whatever it was. So to struggle like that, and still be a top-four seed in the conference, I think it speaks volumes to the character of guys that we have here and the culture that we have here. So that’s something that we’re proud of. Obviously, we can’t get stuck on that and can’t expect to just fall right into place when everyone gets back. It’s gonna be a couple of little growing pains, but I think we’ll be good.”
On the losses against a few teams they should have suffered defeats against…
“I’m still stuck on [Sunday’s loss]. That one just didn’t sit well with me. But in the big picture, when guys went down, you had to have guys step up, and I feel like we’ve kind of kept it afloat a little bit. I feel like there was some games that we should have won, i.e. [Sunday] that we kind of let slip.”
”But I feel like we did as good of a job with injuries that we could have. I feel like we probably could have done a better job in terms of letting a couple of games slip away, but at the end of the day, definitely excited to hopefully get those guys back soon.”
On his performance on Sunday and playing 40 minutes on a nightly basis these days…
“I probably should have taken myself out of yesterday’s game with how I played. But body-wise—the body feels good to have had that kind of stretch.”
“For me, it’s just continuing to try to recover as best I can. And then when I’m out there, just give whatever I got, and once we get guys back, I’m probably 99 percent sure I won’t be playing 40 every day, every game. But the body feels solid.”
On the knee issue that forced him to miss one game last January…
“It’s the typical (knee) soreness, typical swelling and inflammation in it, but I’m good to go. Not gonna focus on all that too much. I just try to get my treatment as I can, and recover the best I can. And I know especially having guys out like this, there’s no room for me to cry about my knee and sit out a game or two.”
Jalen Brunson
On keeping track of the standings and results around the league as the playoffs get closer…
“You definitely pay attention [to the standings]. It’s not weird, because you have so many great players and so many great teams and so many great coaches in this league. It makes you prepare to be ready every single night. You just have to be ready to go.”
“In game, you can’t worry about what place you are in or if this happens or that team loses and we win. When we are in the game, we focus on the game.”
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