New York will try to communicate better and see if that helps it win games, says Mikal Bridges.
The Knicks have had a losing start to the season with just one victory in three games. The devil, however, is in the details. New York faced Boston on the road in the first official game with Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges in the lineup, then hosted the Eastern Conference Finalist Pacers, and lastly collapsed against the Cavs on Monday.
Old foes from Miami will get to watch the Knicks hoop in South Florida on Wednesday as New York plays the Heat on the road trying to even their record and move up to a .500 winning percentage in the early season.
Here’s what we’ve heard from Coach Thibs and some current and former players following Monday’s defeat.
Tom Thibodeau
On Karl-Anthony Towns’ role and decision-making:
“Some of it, I want the game to tell him what to do. Some of it, is if you’re getting double-teamed in the post, then there’s different ways he’s got to get in there, as well.”
“We’ve got to search (the best way to use him) out, whether it’s transition post-ups or off of what’s going on in the game with cutting and movement.”
On the lack of rebounding consistency and effort in the early season:
“I thought the first half [against the Cavs] the rebounding was good, I thought the defense was good. But you’ve got to strive to be a 48-minute team and we’re nowhere near that. But we’ve got to keep working at it and keep our focus on improvement to get better each day.
“I think it’s just consistent effort. You’ve got to keep going.
“I think when you force a defense to collapse and you put them in rotation, you get the movement and it’s drive-pass-pass, there’s going to be opportunities on shots that are missed to go get it.”
On Josh Hart’s adaptability to whatever he’s asked to do:
“You know it’s going to be the same no matter what. Like, whether he starts, comes off the bench, you know he’s going to fit in.
“And he’s been around. So there’s just, in preseason, new pieces. You gotta go through it.”
On Matt Ryan and Landry Shamet’s potential additions:
“We’ll see how it goes. Obviously, Landry is going through the rehab process. We’re excited about Matt, just because of the skill set, the shooting.
“Feel like you can’t have enough shooting, but we like both guys a lot.”
Karl-Anthony Towns
On increasing his shot attempts and studying the Celtics’ blueprint:
“Really a simple answer, but I just gotta watch tape to see how we can get more threes up.
“Obviously, Boston has something in place that they showed that—they could get 61 threes up [against the Knicks last week], so there may be something there to learn from.”
On self-assessment after recent subpar performances:
“I just gotta be better.”
Mikal Bridges
On the Knicks’ need for better communication:
“It’s early for us, but I think we have to communicate with each other a little better.
“I think when [the Cavs] were making their run, we just stayed a little silent. It’s tough. I think we all know it’s just a run, so we will be OK.
“Sometimes you have to vocalize to each other and listen—‘Are we good?’—and talk to each other on the court when things happen.
“I think we got a little quiet and they felt that and they got kind of a little loud and got a little momentum. I wish you could learn from a win. But sometimes it doesn’t go like that.”
Jalen Brunson
On the loss to the Cavaliers:
“I thought it was honestly just a weird game from start to finish. It was kind of a grind-it-out game. Had a 13-point lead and then let it slip away.
“It’s no excuse. We’ve got to play our best basketball in the fourth quarter and we didn’t tonight.”
The Knicks will not win at a high level with Towns only taking 7 shots. That’s on Thibs and Brunson to make sure they feature the Big Fella offensively.
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) October 29, 2024
Kendrick Perkins (Former NBA Player)
On Towns’ role in the Knicks’ offense:
“The Knicks will not win at a high level with Towns only taking 7 shots. That’s on Thibs and Brunson to make sure they feature the Big Fella offensively.”
“You didn’t pass the 5-man the ball in the last how many years? So you don’t really have any plays for [KAT].”
Gilbert Arenas on why KAT is struggling with the New York Knicks. pic.twitter.com/bkfBSfLYEB
— Gilbert Arenas (@GilsArenaShow) October 29, 2024
Gilbert Arenas (Former NBA Player)
On Thibodeau’s lack of plays for Towns’ coming off using a bonafide center last season (Isaiah Hartenstein):
“You don’t really have plays for this man at the five. You don’t have any plays for him? Cool. But you’ve been in this game a long f***ing time as a coach.
“You know that there’s things you can put into it that don’t require any practice.”
On old-age coaches struggling to adapt to the modern players and their game:
“It’s just weird that these old-time coaches have gotten so lazy—and it is laziness.
“Because some of the players are young, we’re not going to call it “stupid,” they’re just not educated on the game itself and they’re not studying the game itself on how to get open and create offense out of nothing.
“Backdoor and slashing when you don’t have the ball? I get it. But you can’t be completely stupid, too.”