Knicks Bulletin: ‘People aren’t doing it that much because it’s not sexy’

Rookie Ariel Hukporti hunts for a roster spot, Hart fights Jennings, and Reggie Miller blesses New York!

The day has arrived. The New York Knicks will play a meaningless game for the last time before going to war for the next eight months.

Washington will witness the final exhibition matchup of the Knicks preseason with the lowly Wizards facing the New Yorkers in the dress rehearsal ahead of Tuesday’s regular-season tip-off in Boston.

Here is what the protagonist and some related personalities have said of late.

Tom Thibodeau

On Josh Hart’s contributions off the ball:

“It’s huge. Being decisive and cutting hard is an act of unselfishness. It’s prioritizing winning.

“If you cut and you’re open, you should get the ball. But even if you cut with force and make the defense react to that, it’s going to open up other things and you’re going to create good offense for your teammates. And that’s what winning is about.”

On needing a little bit of everything to build a winning team:

“You win games [in] different ways. Sometimes it’s your defense [and] your rebounding. Some nights you will shoot it well, and your offense will carry you but to be consistent in this league, you have to be strong on both sides of the ball.”

Josh Hart

On his role in the offense and adapting to the new players in the Knicks’ lineup:

“The scoring aspect (I) will have to sacrifice—I mean, the last couple of games I got like two shots. That’s something I’m going to have to sacrifice.

“It’ll be a little different role. Last year, especially at certain times, when I had certain guards on me, it would be pick-and-rolls and putting those guys in actions.

“I would be in the short pocket and make those kinds of decisions. That’s probably something I won’t be doing too much this year.

“Right now, it’s just focusing on defending, rebounding, pushing it in the fast break and trying to get those guys easier looks and find those guys when they’re open and rock with that.”

On basketball fundamentals and modern trends:

“I think, I don’t know, cutting and making the open layup is, in today’s league, boring. Everyone wants to do the isolations, stepback jumpers, and get their bounce-rhythm dribbles and iso.

“I think some of the fundamentals and beauty of the game—passing, cutting and moving—are lost.

“You still have teams like Golden State (with) Steph Curry who do a great job cutting, but you have other teams where it’s just really focusing on the ball screen and everyone staying spaced. They don’t even want them to cut because then they’re cutting into some of the players.

“For me, it’s a feel. If you see the back of your defender’s head, try to make a cut behind them or a face cut. People aren’t doing it that much because it’s not the ‘sexy’ play.”

On Brandon Jennings’ comments about ‘Ain’t nobody scared of that (Villanova Wildcats) sh*t’:

“If you never won anything in your life, you can’t talk about winning. For guys who’ve only been losers to talk about how to win is foolish to me.”

Ariel Hukporti

On his highlight dunk against the Hornets:

“I jumped and I was like, ‘Oh damn, I’m [very] high. Why not? Let me try it.’”

On his chances of making the Knicks’ roster:

“Everything’s possible, right? Everything’s possible. It [doesn’t] matter where you get drafted or where you’re from.”

Jalen Brunson

On the Knicks’ new season and the outside expectations:

“We don’t really worry about the expectations, that part of it. It is different. It is a totally different [team], but I think it’s good for us because we’re relearning, we’re reteaching, we’re understanding more and more what we have to do every single day.

“Once the season starts, you’re back at square one, no matter what team you’re on, no matter how much chemistry you had the prior year, you’re starting over again.”

Reggie Miller (Former NBA Player)

On the Knicks and Celtics as the top teams in the East:

“To me, the Knicks and Boston are the two clear-cut top teams in the East.”

On the Knicks’ offseason moves:

“To go out and get Mikal Bridges, who hasn’t missed a game since he was in the AAU in the sixth grade, who is a 3-and-D type of player — and to get [Karl-Anthony Towns,] who is going to create even more space [for Brunson]. Think about this: because of his shooting and his ability to draw bigs away from the rim, the space he’s going to create for Jalen Brunson. Think about the space he had with Mitchell Robinson and he was still giving you 29 [points] a game. Think about the space he gets to operate now with that high and side screen-and-roll with KAT.”

On the Knicks getting to witness the Celtics’ ring ceremony:

“If you’re the Knicks, you’ve got to watch them get their rings. You’ve got to hear the celebration. And just you’ve re-tooled. And you said you’re coming for them. And it’s opening night. … It is going to be a fun journey to watch in the East, these two teams battle it out.”

Brandon Jennings (Former NBA Player)

On New York’s ‘Nova Knicks strategy:

“Ain’t nobody scared of that s*ht. This ain’t college, f*ck out of here. This ain’t f*cking college.”

On Hart’s response to his initial comment:

“Never won in life? Well, maybe if they win a title in New York, then he’ll have won something.

“He should be glad they made those two trades just now or they wouldn’t even have a shot at competing.

“We’ll see what happens this year.”