You might not believe it but the Knicks are only 16 wins away from winning the whole NBA.

The wait is over.

New York hosts Detroit tonight as the Knicks take on the Pistons for a much-anticipated first-round matchup that will see the NYK kick their playoffs, aiming at reaching the ECF for the first time in ages.

Here’s what Coach Thibs, a few Knickerbockers, Coach JB, a few Pistonians, and plenty more people have said in the past few days and hours leading up to tip-off of Game 1. Let’s get it poppin’!

Tom Thibodeau

On the speculation about his job security:

“I don’t pay attention to any of that stuff. I just worry about the series. That’s all I worry about.”

On entering the matchup against Detroit as the favorites to advance:

“It doesn’t mean anything. The only thing that matters is what we think. Whether it’s praise or criticism, it’s all the same. Just lock in to what we have to lock into…

“Don’t get drunk with emotion, with praise.”

On player adaptability and the evolving Knicks chemistry:

“I think that’s the nature of our league—how quickly can you adapt to things? So when you come into a new season, you always have some new faces, and how do you get everyone onto the same page? So you have to have everyone pulling together.

“And then, same thing, things happen during the course of a season and you can lose a guy for 10 games and then someone else comes in and their strengths are different than the guy they’re replacing. We said when Jalen went out that we knew we couldn’t replace him individually, that we’d have to do it collectively, and that’s what we did.”

On his team’s experience:

“I like the experience that we do have. We have good veterans who have been through things. They’ve done a good job helping our younger guys understand what goes into it.”

Jalen Brunson

On Thibodeau’s development over time:

“I’ve seen him evolve a lot. I vaguely remember him when I was younger, seeing him coach and then seeing him at Minnesota and then seeing him now, I think he’s evolved a lot. Having in-depth conversations with him, obviously about basketball but also non-basketball stuff, the way we can connect, helps us on the court. It’s been fun. It’s just the way he’s been able to push me and make sure I’m not satisfied. I could go on and on about that.

“Our relationship has evolved—we’re more direct, we talk to each other, I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

On supporting Thibodeau amid job speculation:

“He means a lot. Individually, he’s meant a lot to my career. He’s meant a decent amount to [Karl-Anthony Towns], coaching KAT in Minnesota and here. There’s a lot of players who can say they’ve definitely benefited from Tom Thibodeau in his career.

“I think as a team, we’re always in a position where we can compete in the postseason, since I’ve been here. He’s very prepared, he’s a very prepared individual. He’s done a lot for my career, so I’m always going to be a supporter. Always.

“Even when he annoys me, always.”

On how Thibodeau annoys him:

“He annoys me the most when he asks me who did Villanova just lose to. That’s when he annoys the most.”

On Thibodeau’s critics:

“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I’m a big Thibs supporter. That’s who I am and that’s who I’ll be.”

On OG Anunoby’s work ethic and personality:

“What I’ve seen from [Anunoby] is a person who’s coming in everyday, doing his job, working on his game. When we needed it most, he’s just stepped up.

“He’s obviously a quiet guy, he’s a soft spoken guy, but when he goes out there he’s a different person — you can see by the way he plays.”

On Anunoby’s scoring surge:

“I don’t think any of us up here were surprised. It’s just the timing of what he did, when he did it was just perfect for us and our team.”

On getting ready for the playoffs:

“I mean, it’s always business as usual. The playoffs are a little bit different. You get more time to prepare, especially with this week, you’re watching all these games, the intensity, what’s at stake. You’re just ready to go. I don’t want to say I have a playoff mode. I just know it’s time to go.”

Josh Hart

On the Knicks knowing they must support Brunson:

“We’re here to help him. We know that’s the thing with why we’re brought here. I think Coach realized that when JB went down, it let us grow a little bit more and gave confidence to all of us and gave confidence to them to know that we can [make plays] and help each other out to try to win a game.

“So definitely relieve pressure ’cause him getting blitzed all the time and all that stuff makes it easier for us because then we play four-on-three. It should make things so much easier for him.”

On who should be present at the Garden so OG can cook:

“We need Suni or Anne Hathaway at every game during this playoff run.”

P.J. Tucker

On the need for physicality in the upcoming series:

“There’s no way to match the physicality other than to match it. We know what it’s going to be. Guys gotta step up to the challenge.”

J.B. Bickerstaff (Detroit Pistons Head Coach)

On how young teams must go through a playoff learning curve:

“It’s a completely different basketball game. Until you’re in it, it’s hard to understand it. We’ve been through this before.

“I say this to our coaches, at some point in time, we were all kids and didn’t listen to our parents, and we didn’t figure it out until we experienced it on our own. That’s what the playoffs are like. We can tell guys what to expect, but until they experience it themselves, you don’t understand just how different it is.”

Tobias Harris (Detroit Pistons Player)

On the special atmosphere at MSG and the Pistons’ preparation for it:

“The Garden can get loud. I know that, for sure. It’s good—makes us communicate, makes us understand how we have to talk to each other.

“We’re NBA players, these type of environments are huge, it’s what we live for. This is how we kind of go out and show people what we’re about.”

Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors Player)

On the matchup between Towns and the Pistons’ bigs:

“I think the Pistons can give the Knicks problems in this series. I don’t think this is a cakewalk.

“(Isaiah Stewart) and Jalen Duren gonna rough Karl-Anthony Towns up. Karl-Anthony Towns gotta bring his hard hat to this matchup. They are going to try to make him quit.”

Reggie Miller (Former NBA Player)

On the Knicks’ challenge in the first round:

“This is going to be a fun series to watch. I just hope the Knicks respect them and don’t overlook them. Because if they do, then we could be looking at an upset.

“Experience, to me, matters. I know everyone is saying it, but number one, I don’t think this is going to be an easy series for New York. I do think they will end up winning this series, but this is what they cannot do—they cannot overlook Detroit just because of the experience factor.”

On the playoffs being an entirely different thing to the regular season:

“You throw away that 0–10 [record] against all these other teams. It’s totally different in the playoffs. If they are fortunate enough to get by Detroit, you know who’s waiting for them in the second round.

“We know what Boston and the Knicks’ record is over the last two seasons. But again, it’s the playoffs. It’s the new season. Anything is possible.”

Stan Van Gundy (Former NBA Coach)

On Knicks vs. Pistons:

“Look, Detroit is good. This team has, I think, surprised everybody and has been very, very good. But I’m with Reggie, I think New York, not only in experience, it’s [Karl-Anthony] Towns.

“I think, to me, you’re gonna go with Brunson, Towns, and Cade Cunningham. I look at it and say, ‘Who are the top five or six players in that series?’ And I’m probably taking New York four of the top five or five of the top six.

“New York has not defended the way you would expect a New York team for most of the year. But they’ve been a little better lately, they’re getting healthy, and OG Anunoby is playing the best basketball of his career. That team, like Reggie said, it’s got experience. It’s got toughness. It’s got two great offensive players.

“I think they’ve got a little too much for Detroit.”

On potential second round vs. Boston:

“Look, that New York-Boston series would be crazy. That series would be off the charts in terms of fan interest. I just don’t put a lot of stock in [head-to-head records].

“With that said, I think Boston’s the better team right now. I think they’ve shown down the stretch—18–3 to end the season—that they’re the team to beat, not only in that series but in the East and probably in the league. But New York’s really, really good.

“Just like we said with New York and Detroit, it’s not going to be an easy series for Boston. New York can make it tough. I just think Boston’s defense is better.”

Larry Johnson (New York Knicks Legend)

On playing inside New York’s Madison Square Garden:

“Half the battle is wanting to play in New York. The lights are bright on Broadway. You can say that and other teams—‘Ah, whatever, whatever, that’s just New York talking.’ Well, you feel it when you come play here.

“When you come here, and you put the New York across the chest, you step on the floor, then it’s a little different. And I think all them guys on the team want to be here, they want to play with each other and they feel good with playing with each other, and that takes a lot out of it. And the crowd is behind all these guys now. That’s a big difference.”

On the Pistons matchup:

“Those Pistons, man, towards the end of the season, they were playing just as well as anybody.

“For us, it’s just playing together, home-court advantage. I’m proud of that, but those guys have played together, they love playing with each other, their chemistry is great, so they just continue that and we should be OK.”

On the Knicks’ chances vs. Boston:

“Absolutely. You gotta play the game, man. We know how they look and we know what happened during the regular season.

“Playoffs is a whole different story, and it’s hard to keep beating teams like that. Yeah absolutely, absolutely they can beat them.”

Shams Charania (NBA Insider)

On a potential trade interest in Kevin Durant:

“This is the start of significant changes coming to Phoenix, and from a roster perspective, that is expected to begin and center around Kevin Durant, their future Hall of Famer. Back at the NBA trade deadline, there were multiple teams that pursued Durant in a trade, and there were some teams that there were also mutual interest. Those teams included Houston, New York, San Antonio, as well as Miami. So expect those teams to be back in the picture for Kevin Durant. I would expect others to jump in the fray as well.”

On how the trade will unfold:

“It’s going to really come down to which team believes they are a Kevin Durant away. So staying very close to the NBA playoffs and seeing who does well. …The Suns are expected to work with Durant as well as business partner Rich Kleiman on finding his next trade home.”

Stephen A. Smith (TV Personality)

On his Knicks prediction:

“I’m still going to pick them to win this series of course, but it’s more emotional. What I don’t like most about this matchup for the Knicks is that Detroit seems to have what the Knicks had last year. And that’s that grit, that grind. They’ll make it ugly.”

Wally Szczerbiak (Former NBA Player)

On what this series could reveal:

“We’re going to learn a lot about the interior of this locker room in this series quick. Because the talent is there. They should blow out this Detroit team when you go player for player. If they don’t dominate this series, there’s something going on in that locker room that’s not right.”

On the team’s chemistry entering the playoffs:

“The chemistry is not where it was last year going into the playoffs. That’s something this team is going to have to find quick. Jalen Brunson is the captain. He’s the head of that locker room. He’s going to have to lead by example and play at a high level to get all those guys comfortable. Because I think there is some fractured confidence in that locker room. And getting this playoff season, and getting these playoff games off to the right start is going to be on Jalen Brunson to set the tone and everybody else follows.”

On how to handle Detroit:

“You’re the better team, you’re the more skilled team. You got to match the physicality but you can’t let it get in your head. That’s when the Pistons win – when they get in your head with their little bumps, with their little shimmies, with their little antics. Just let your play do the talking. You have the home-court advantage. Set the tone by throttling this team in Game 1. And that physicality will go away.”