Knicks Bulletin: ‘We’ll be having this conversation in 2032’

Will this be the (10th-to)last time LeBron James graces Madison Square Garden?

The day has come and New York City will host LeBron James for one final time before he retires next summer. No farewell tour, folks, just accept it.

The Knicks will try to make it six wins in a row tonight and the next time the Lakers visit MSG they’ll (maybe) do so with another, much-younger James in the squad. So sad.

Here’s the latest we’ve heard from Coach Thibs and a few Knickerbockers.

Tom Thibodeau

On the need to stay focused despite recent success:

“It’s a good win, and we don’t want to get carried away with ourselves, but there’s things that we have to continue to improve upon.

“I think these are all good tests for us. It tells us exactly where we are and what we have to work on to get better, and not to be satisfied and to always have the belief that we can do things better.

“I think this team does. We have a committed group that’s willing to sacrifice for each other and play for each other, and when that happens, good things follow.”

Josh Hart

On the Knicks’ defensive improvements:

“I think at times we’re trying to buckle down defensively. We’re switching and we’re doing it properly. We’re communicating. We’re not giving up slip layups or threes behind the screen or anything like that.

“We’re communicating at a high level and just making teams see bodies. That’s something we’ve got to continue to do. Earlier we were winning games with our offense, now we’re winning games with our defense.”

Jalen Brunson

On the Knicks’ inconsistencies and the need to fix them:

“Truly, I feel like we’re too much of a rollercoaster right now. We have these great games where we look great then we have games where we’re just like what the hell was that.

“I feel like we’re still trending in the right direction. We’re still going, we’re moving up—if we can just be more consistent, that will make me feel better, I mean us, feel better.”

On the mental side of the game:

“Obviously, you want to make shots, obviously there are X’s and O’s that we can do to make our team better. But I think, more than anything, it’s just our mind. We have to have the mental preparation and mentality that we have to be ready every single day.

“This [stuff] is not a cakewalk. I guess I was beating around the bush. But mentally—when it’s game day, you’re locked in.”

OG Anunoby

On how they prevent opponents from going on runs:

“Just getting stops. Getting a turnover, getting out in transition, getting an easy score. It just kind of deflates the other team.”

Karl-Anthony Towns

On the Knicks stopping Denver’s attempt at a comeback:

“We stopped the bleeding. Just good execution. We’ve done a great job of—when teams hit some big shots, hit some 3s, we respond immediately, whether it’s getting an easy one, JB [Jalen] doing what he does best, coming off a pick-and-roll, bounce pass … things like that.

“We’ve got a lot of talent in here, but great teams know when to put the talent aside and just execute. That’s what we’ve been doing.”

Kevin McCullar Jr.

On making his G-League debut after a long injury layoff:

“Man, after a long year, it felt good to be back out there competing! God is so good.”

Mike Breen (TV Personality)

On LeBron James potentially playing his last game at MSG:

“The way he’s going, I think we’ll be having this conversation in 2032 and 2033 as he gets to 47, 48.

“It’s worth mentioning on the broadcast, certainly, because there is that possibility, but because there’s no definitive retirement date yet for him, thankfully, it can’t be a major focus on the game.

“Will we be seeing him again here? Is the crowd responding to him because they think it might be the last time? You just never know. So it definitely has to be a thought coming in because of what he’s meant to the league, and certainly the Garden has always been his favorite road arena. So it will be discussed, but not overblown, because I still have a feeling he’s going to be playing a few more years with what he’s doing right now.”

On why fans deserve a pre-announced farewell tour from LeBron James:

“I hope he does, because for what he’s done for the game, I think fans around the country, even the people who’ve enjoyed booing him over the years, would love to give him a standing ovation. Because he deserves that at every arena he’s played in. The player deserves it and the fans deserve a chance to say thank you, as well.”

On LeBron’s sustained excellence:

“We are seeing something we will never see again. There’s no way we will ever see this again.

“Look at what the guy’s done for his whole career, the sustained excellence, but to continue to do it at this point in his career, is incredible.

“I said this on the air last week when we did a Lakers game in San Francisco against the Warriors, but the year he’s having this season at age 40 in his 22nd year in the league is better than the career years of many Hall of Fame players. And I think for some reason, people still like to hate him, and I just don’t get it. Because he’s always stood for winning first, and I just don’t get that.

“But I’d think that even the most hardened critics have to admit what he’s doing is just truly remarkable.”

On his favorite LeBron James MSG moment:

“The Garden already was abuzz and now LeBron comes in, and we thought, ‘How does he top that?’ Not that he topped it, but he came pretty damn close.

“I think he had half the team’s points, or close to it. No one was scoring 125 in those days, and for him to come in and do that after what Kobe did, that was pretty incredible. For me that was the one I remember the most.”

On the electric atmosphere at recent Knicks games:

“I didn’t call the Kings game, but the latter two were among the loudest January regular-season games I can recall doing.

“For the Garden to sound like that, it sounded like a Game 7 of a playoff series.

“I thought the atmosphere was off the charts, and I think a big part of it was because the defense was the key to it all. That was the question going into the season and for much of the season, how good can their defense be? Well, it’s been terrific the last few games.

“To see the defense start to catch up to the offense, that has the crowds dreaming big things.”