Knicks Bulletin: “Nothing to prove“

With no regular-season action for the first time since Christmas Eve and the NBA kicking the All-Star weekend off with a pair of events—the Celebrity Game and the Rising Stars Challenge—held inside the cavernous Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, it’s not that we got a ton of new content to share today.

If you can still read words printed on paper or popping up your smartphone/laptop screen after watching that flashy LED court used yesterday, congratulations and welcome!

Here are a few of the thoughts shared by some of our Knickerbockers, all of them coming from another extraordinary Fred Katz (The Athletic) story.

Donte DiVincenzo

On his six-year pro career to date and what’s left for him to show...

“Nothing to prove.”

On adapting to his new role as a starter and opposing defenses keying on him...

“There were a couple of games I was getting frustrated where they were denying me almost at half court. Especially when Julius is out, we’re a man down, Jalen (Brunson) is doing a lot of pick-and-roll and when I’m off the ball, they’re face guarding and denying.”

On reading defenses and reacting to how they close on him...

“(I will) still be aggressive with catch-and-shoots but also, how are they closing on me? They’re focused and aggressive. The first guy flies; they’re sending a second one sometimes. So a lot of it is just reading the closeouts.”

On using space to move defenders out of opposition and opening opportunities for his teammates...

“If Jalen is coming off a pick-and-roll and I know they’re denying me, I’m just gonna back up, create more space for Jalen to work, more space for Josh to come off the dribble handoff, because then if they sink, I almost just follow him to the 3-point line. Like I said, that’s what I haven’t seen in my career so far.”

On forcing defenders to stay close to him on pick-and-rolls even if they are closer to midcourt than the arc, thus stretching the floor to open space...

“I think it’s needed—not to say that when guys come back, we need it at the same clip—but at the same time, it just adds another asset to our offense.”

Isaiah Hartenstein

On Donte DiVincenzo’s unexpected levels of play this season...

“He’s been big for us. Just stepping up when we need him the most. Every game this season when we kind of need it, when we need somebody to step up, he was there.”

Tom Thibodeau

On DiVincezo’s smooth transition into a larger role as a starter...

“I think it’s his best stretch of basketball. Donte has played at a really high level. And we needed it. We’re down quite a few guys and we still got to scratch out wins.”

“That’s what I like about our team—every time we’ve had someone go out, we’ve had somebody step in. One guy goes out and it’s an opportunity for someone else to get in there and grow.”

On his players getting into the paint, then passing the ball out for open 3s as defenders collapse...

“When you look at how 3s are generated, it’s transition first, then it’s the dribble penetration, forcing the defense to collapse. We always say, ‘Get paint grabs.’ Get the ball into the paint and then drive, pass, pass. Those are rhythm 3s.”