{"id":647138,"date":"2026-05-16T18:01:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T18:01:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/647138\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T18:01:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T18:01:12","slug":"knicks-bulletin-the-humble-warrior","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/647138\/","title":{"rendered":"Knicks Bulletin: \u2018The humble warrior\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve reached a point where you can say the Cavs<\/a> and the Pistons are doing this on purpose to prevent Knicks fans from enjoying New York basketball.<\/p>\n

But hey, seven games on their legs? Can\u2019t complain!<\/p>\n

We\u2019re the latest four days and a few hours from the ECF Game 1 tip-off. Finally.<\/p>\n

On OG Anunoby returning as a full participant in practice:<\/p>\n

\u201cHe practiced today in full. Everything we did today, he did. Anytime anybody is able to do anything like that, it\u2019s always encouraging.\u201d<\/p>\n

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On leaving the final decision about Anunoby\u2019s availability to the medical staff:<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, I\u2019m a wait and let the medical group tell me each day what he can do. We\u2019ll see if they tell me something different tomorrow. But it\u2019s definitely encouraging to see somebody be able to go out there and practice a full practice like OG did.\u201d<\/p>\n

On maintaining consistency after a long layoff:<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we expect to be who we think we\u2019re capable of being, we\u2019ll find a way to stay consistent with what we\u2019re doing. Whether it\u2019s the energy level, the effort level, or embracing\/focusing on the details that we have to be able to understand in order to go out and get a win.\u201d<\/p>\n

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On ignoring outside noise and focusing on a championship goal:<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t look at it like that. I literally do this to try to compete to try to win a championship. That\u2019s what my focus is throughout the course of the year. Throughout the course of the year, there\u2019s going to be noise out there. When [ex-San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich] was at his height, people talked about him. When [Golden State Warriors head coach] Steve Kerr was at his height, people talked about him. People can talk about Mike Brown for sure, but it\u2019s my job to ignore the noise. It\u2019s easy to do that because the pressure that I put on myself and the team puts on itself to be great or try to be the best team in the league, doesn\u2019t even match up to what everyone else says.\u201d<\/p>\n

On weighing player suggestions before making adjustments:<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t act upon everything. Because if you act upon everything, you\u2019re going to be driving yourself crazy and everybody else crazy. It was just something where we were struggling to score [at the time] and I had been thinking about it for awhile and it finally came to me at that point. \u2026 I take suggestions from everybody. At the end of the day, it\u2019s up to me to make the decision of yea or nay. The tough part about it is, sometimes when you have suggestions, and there are a lot of good ones out there, a suggestion is one thing, but trying to actually put the suggestion into something that can be real for the group and fit the group, not just that one person, that\u2019s the tricky part. I\u2019ve always been a guy that if you come to me with a suggestion, a lot of times, especially as a coach, you gotta have something to back it up. Some video, some analytics. Tell me how.\u201d<\/p>\n

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On tailoring his system to the personnel he has:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe kind of figured it out along the way. [KAT and Sabonis<\/a>] do a lot of stuff that are similar. You have an idea [coming into a new job with a new team] of what you want to do offensively [and] defensively, but then it\u2019s your job as a coach to try to figure out, \u2018Does this really fit the group that you have in front of you?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

On the challenges of implementing changes in Year 1:<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why it\u2019s always tough to do things in Year 1, because it takes some time to get used to the group, not just what their strengths are as skill players, but their personalities and other things that make them tick. Trying to put a guy like Sabonis at his strength, trying to put a guy like KAT at his strength is something that, as a head coach, it\u2019s my job to think constantly about, as long as it enhances everybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n

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On embracing collaboration while retaining final authority:<\/p>\n

\u201cI take suggestions from everybody. And at the end of the day it\u2019s up for me to make the decision of yay or nay. I\u2019ve always been a guy who if you come to me with suggestions especially as a coach. You have to have something to back it up. Some video or analytics. At the end of the day, I have to say this makes sense let\u2019s do it, but this is how we\u2019re going to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

On watching potential Eastern Conference Finals opponents with his fianc\u00e9e:<\/p>\n

\u201cMy fiancee [Jordyn Woods], she loves watching basketball a lot. It\u2019s always something, even when I\u2019m not thinking about it, maybe I\u2019m thinking of talking to my family, my niece, my nephew, [Jordyn] has the game on. She\u2019s constantly updating me on what\u2019s happening. She knows ball now, after all these years together. She\u2019s talking about flex screens, UCLA cuts and stuff like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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On staying connected with his former Minnesota<\/a> teammates:<\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely am tuned in. I watch the games, especially on the days that we\u2019re not playing, and the Wolves are playing. I\u2019m always tapped in, I\u2019m watching, I\u2019m texting Ant [Edwards], I\u2019m texting Rudy [Gobert<\/a>], I\u2019m texting those guys and just watching them play.\u201d<\/p>\n

On approaching the coaching staff about changing his role:<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re down 2-1, obviously it\u2019s not the end of the world but you guys understand the importance of the next game. \u2026 You go in there and say how you feel, your feelings, your idea and see if it\u2019s received. And it was received.\u201d<\/p>\n

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On embracing a facilitator role:<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always loved this role. I\u2019ve always wanted this role, so [I\u2019m] happy we got to this point.\u201d<\/p>\n

On whether he feels vindicated by the adjustment:<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always said since the beginning, I\u2019ll do whatever it takes to impact winning. I\u2019m glad I\u2019ve been able to do that with this changing role and be able to help our team win. That\u2019s the most important thing. And utilize my talent.\u201d<\/p>\n

On entering Year 1 under Mike Brown without expectations:<\/p>\n

\u201cI really didn\u2019t have any expectations. I didn\u2019t know what to expect.\u201d<\/p>\n

On crediting Brown for the team\u2019s current position:<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s done a great job of adjusting our team to give us the best chance to win. The spot we\u2019re in now is because of his courage and trust to change what we were doing and putting us in a better position.\u201d<\/p>\n

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On Mitchell Robinson<\/a>\u2019s impact:<\/p>\n

\u201c[Robinson\u2019s] one of the most impactful players on our team. I think all of y\u2019all know how important he is to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

On how the offense naturally evolved through Towns late in possessions:<\/p>\n

\u201cUsing KAT sometimes at the end of the [shot] clock, we started using him more [in that role]. And then we kind of naturally started getting into it. Obviously, our coaches are taking notice. It\u2019s kind of what we\u2019ve been doing all year, but I think the more it started happening when, at the end of the clock, guys were [playing] off of him and then we started using it, guys playing off the ball, and then we kind of just started making it a point of emphasis. I felt like it was something [Towns] was always capable of.\u201d<\/p>\n

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On believing Towns could handle the expanded responsibility:<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like it was always something he was capable of. You don\u2019t get a lot of practice time. I always feel like it\u2019s tough to figure it out \u2014 but again \u2014 that\u2019s what the regular season is for.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Mitchell Robinson\u2019s continued growth and value:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels like every year Mitch just continues to get better. He\u2019s so important to our team. And when it\u2019s time for him to show up, he shows up. \u2026 It\u2019s huge for us creating opportunities at the offensive end. And obviously being at the rim and helping us in so many ways is huge.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Mike Brown\u2019s collaborative style:<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s always wanted to have open dialogue since day one. And obviously he\u2019s still the coach and he\u2019s going to make the decisions and everything. But I mean, we give our opinions, and whether they\u2019re good or bad opinions, they\u2019re talked about and they\u2019re decided on later.\u201d<\/p>\n

On revisiting his postgame comments about Philadelphia<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cI was wrong in part of my post-game interview. I said Philly wasn\u2019t a sports town. I thought it was, but it\u2019s no longer is. It\u2019s not a sports town. They\u2019re diehard and they love the Eagles. What\u2019s the definition of a sports town? You can\u2019t be a sports town if another team fan base takes over your arena. You cannot be a sports town if that happens. Boston<\/a>? Sports town. You won\u2019t see anyone take over their arena. So yes. (Los Angeles<\/a>) is more of a sports town than Philly. Because the Rams, they just got back. So I mean, it\u2019s going to take a little bit of time to kind of, you know, cultivate that environment, but they\u2019re almost there. But we\u2019ve taken over Philly. We\u2019re down the street from Boston. Have we ever taken over TD Garden? No. And you will never see Jaylen Brown<\/a>, Jayson Tatum<\/a> sitting there saying, fans, we need y\u2019all to come out because if y\u2019all don\u2019t, the Knicks are going to [take over], they\u2019re never going to say that because they don\u2019t have to.\u201d<\/p>\n

On watching the Knicks\u2019 current play:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just been amazing, like, \u2018Who are these guys?\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

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On the similarities to the 1970s championship teams:<\/p>\n

\u201cThey remind me so much of Frazier-to-Bradley-to-Barnett-to-Reed-to-DeBusschere. The way the ball is moving around the court. The way they hit the open man.\u201d<\/p>\n

On how stagnant the offense once looked:<\/p>\n

\u201cI kept hoping. A lot of times they were stagnant, too much dribbling. And sometimes when Jalen was playing so well, it was like the other guys would stand transfixed, and they weren\u2019t moving like they are now, all of them realizing how equally important they all are. And then KAT happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Towns\u2019 creativity as a passer:<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the passes are really just very impressive. You know, Globetrotter-like, extraordinary where he has the ball in one hand, behind his back, but that\u2019s the other thing that\u2019s fascinated me is the moving and grooving. How does that happen all of a sudden? Bridges is going back door? OG\u2019s going back door. All these guys, it doesn\u2019t matter, the second unit. They\u2019re all moving the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

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On adapting alongside Earl Monroe during the 1973 title run:<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had to play more defense here than he did in Baltimore. And I had to make sure he shot the ball enough because he didn\u2019t want to come across like a ball hog. We figured it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

On his excitement about this Knicks team winning the title:<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, man, let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s go Knicks!\u201d<\/p>\n

On Jalen Brunson\u2019s humility and leadership:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe humble warrior. He just wants to play basketball; he definitely just wants to win. He definitely just wants to win. [Brunson] definitely is a guy that\u2019s going to take over when he needs to. But he knows he needs his team. He knows everybody in that locker room, so he\u2019s going to do whatever he\u2019s got to do and say whatever he\u2019s got to say for everybody to be together.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We\u2019ve reached a point where you can say the Cavs and the Pistons are doing this on purpose…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":647139,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[6417,8731,6250,157936,36783,29175,5488,61628,36782,25169,3031,6043,62394,6429,25161,355,19560,272550,2085,279181,99,8853],"class_list":["post-647138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-atlanta-hawks","tag-boston","tag-cavs","tag-gobert","tag-jalen-brunson","tag-jaylen-brown","tag-jayson-tatum","tag-josh-hart","tag-karl-anthony-towns","tag-knicks","tag-los-angeles","tag-mike-brown","tag-miles-mcbride","tag-minnesota","tag-mitchell-robinson","tag-nba","tag-og-anunoby","tag-p-j-tucker","tag-philadelphia","tag-sabonis","tag-sports","tag-tennessee-titans"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=647138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647138\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/647139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=647138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=647138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=647138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}