THE New York Knicks welcomed the Warriors of the Golden State on Friday, a leap day, and although they ended up with another defeat (110-99) In their regular season record, they can at least celebrate the end of the putrid month of February.
Tom Thibodeau’s team had no answers for the Dubs in what was a wire-to-wire loss to the former dynastic team before facing the Cavaliers on the road next Sunday in what is the only game that They will play away from MSG until March 14.
Here’s what Thibs and a few other protagonists had to say before and after yesterday’s affair.
Tom Thibodeau
On what went wrong early in the game when the Knicks were down 14-0…
“They hit us hard. So they came out in transition, got some easy buckets and we had to fight to fill a big hole.
On Josh Hart who played 47 minutes against the Warriors in a wire-to-wire loss…
“I still talk to him. He’s handling the situation well, we’re obviously shorthanded right now, so that’s what’s needed.
“You know… 18 rebounds, seven assists, he’s a great defender, we need him right now.”
On limiting Alec Burks’ playing time to just 11 minutes off the bench…
“If you look at his net rating, I probably should have played him more minutes tonight. He’s a plus when he’s on the field: good things happen, so keep working.
On which player would have the mission to defend Steph Curry individually…
“Our team will try.”
On OG Anunoby’s rehabilitation process and when he will finally make his return…
“I think this is all speculation (a potential return in mid-March). That’s when he’s ready to play.
“The good thing is he was exonerated [Thursday, returning to on-court activities Friday]. You now move on to the next phase. He will be examined daily by our medical staff and then we will go from there. This next step is the most important. Once the contact is added, it will then be ready to go.
On the defensive difficulties following OG Anunoby’s injury and surgery, and how to resolve them…
“The defense difficulties are probably a combination [of things]. Obviously, it is [OG going out]but Isaiah also coincides with this [Hartenstein] to go out. Part of our rim protection has therefore disappeared. But we still have to find a way to make it happen. The rest of you guys, come in and do it.
Going 4-8 in February and staying focused, taking one game at a time…
“I give our guys a lot of credit. They fought all year. We were shorthanded most of the year. So keep fighting. Don’t look ahead, just look at what awaits us today. Tomorrow we will worry about tomorrow. Put everything you have into each day.
Josh Hart
On the Knicks’ collective performance in the loss to the Warriors…
“We played like [expletive]. That was it. We couldn’t stop. We’re a team we get stops with, we play fast. We get buckets for each other. We conceded too many points on fast breaks during this first quarter. So learning experience. Now we just have to focus on Cleveland and learn from it.
On doubts about the Knicks’ playoff chances after losing eight of their last 11 games…
“I’m not sure what you’re expecting or what you’re all thinking. We play the best we can with the bodies we have. We got guys like OG, [Julius Randle]Mitch [Robinson], absent for a long time. We play our [butts] disabled. It’s not like we just sit there crying over our wounds and lie down. No, we work hard, we surpass ourselves.
“Once we got the guys back, everything was good. I didn’t see anyone talk about the way we were playing before that: nine in a row, 10 in a row, 15 out of 17.”
“Take four starters, six rotation players out of any lineup in the league, they’re going to struggle. It doesn’t matter if it’s Boston with the best record, or Detroit or Washington with the worst record. If you take out that many guys at once, you’re going to have a hard time. It is reality.
On what OG Anunoby gives the Knicks when available and on the court…
“He’s someone who can make the game easy. Offensively, he lets the game come to him, sets things up in rhythm, in the offensive flow. Defensively, he’s obviously an important piece in terms of protecting the opposing team’s best players, point of attack, that type of thing.
“So not having that makes things more difficult defensively and offensively, but anytime he stops snooping around and (being) on vacation, it will be better.”
On the slow recovery of OG Anunoby which now lasts more than a month since his last match…
“He takes his time, I’ll tell you that. I play 40 [minutes]. That’s the difference, so I hope he hurry up.
Isaiah Hartenstein
On the Knicks’ poor run of results as they battle the injury bug and the team’s mindset…
” We are confident. We struggled a bit even after that, although we were playing well. Then we had more injuries and then a whole bunch of guys were out. And some matches where it was close at the end. Houston [lost on an incorrect foul call] was closed.”
“That last part was a little tougher, but again, we have enough guys here. We are confident in it until everyone comes back.
On his early return from his Achilles injury to help the team as much and as soon as possible…
“I probably could have gone a few more weeks. But for me, I think we found a perfect medium to accelerate it at the right time. I just want to be there for the team.
On the fact that he has played fewer minutes (20 Thursday) in recent games as he slowly returns from his injury…
“I feel it a little bit now. But that’s why you intensify it, because it will get better and better. This is where we are. We don’t want to escalate the situation too much at this point. We have a good program in place. It will get better. That’s what’s good.
Jalen Brunson
On his performance in Thursday’s loss to the Golden State Warriors…
“I just focus on doing whatever I need to do to help the team win, that’s my main priority, and I didn’t do that tonight.”
On how the Warriors took the lead, making it impossible for the Knicks to pull off a comeback…
“They were shooting. They just had a little more energy than us for the first six to eight minutes. From then on we started playing a little better. But that’s just not a good start on our part.
“They brought it from the start. And then I play catch-up. It made things difficult all night, so you have to give them a lot of credit. It’s a well-coached team there. They’ve been playing well the last few games, like 15 games or whatever.
“They have weapons, and you can definitely tell they’ve been playing together for a long time, so you have to give them a lot of credit.”
Coming out of defeat and looking at what lies ahead…
“We’re going to Cleveland, for sure. We clearly need to be better. We can certainly learn from our past. We can be upset, angry for the rest of the day, until we fall asleep. But tomorrow morning, we will have to focus on the next one. Keep our morale up, keep our confidence.
“We all have to work hard individually to be confident. Just come the next day, be ready to go, just keep trusting yourself, just keep crumbling.
Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors head coach)
On Jalen Brunson’s All-Star season and if it surprised him…
“No, because this has been happening for a few years.”
“We saw Jalen in the West Final with Dallas two years ago and he was a crucial part of their team. Obviously, he went to another level last year with the Knicks.
“He’s a great player, a great leader, a great guy to coach and know, and tough to defend. He is very intelligent and strong, he is really a great player. He’s great in painting. He’s got great elbows, great footwork.
“I think you can see the Villanova influence with him. Jay Wright is a great coach, a great fundamentals coach. When you watched Villanova play in Jay’s era, you always had the feeling that they were going to take care of the ball, keep their feet on the ground and make the fundamental play. This is one of the strengths of their teams. Jalen embodies that, and when you have a guy that strong, with all that footwork, he’s even more deadly because now you have a reverse pivot and he can withstand any hit and run through people and reach the rim or remove your shot. using this force. So he’s really tough.
On the Dubs defense and Moses Moody in particular limiting Brunson to an 11-of-25 shooting performance…
“Moses just did a great job of making things as difficult as possible without committing a foul, forcing [Brunson] in difficult shots. That was key, but I thought our entire team defended at a high level tonight.
