Knicks Bulletin: “You can’t hit home runs all the time, just keep hitting singles.”

The only good news coming off Thursday’s loss to the Golden State Warriors was that it marked the final one in a February-to-forget in New York Knicks’ history following one of the best months the franchise had ever put together after going 14-2 in January.

With a couple of days to spare before visiting the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday, and with the team entering a pivotal home stretch featuring 22 games from Mar. 3 through Apr. 14, there has not been a lot of content out there as folks have remained silent for the past few hours.

That doesn’t mean we haven’t found some quotes left in the wild, which we’ve included in this, the latest edition of our Knicks Bulletin.

Tom Thibodeau

On limiting Alec Burks to only 11 minutes in the loss to Golden State last Thursday...

“I probably should have played him more minutes. Again, because he’s a plus when he’s on the floor, and good things are happening. So just keep working.”

“I think the one thing is, he does give you spacing because people know that he can shoot. And that is very good in the pick-and-roll game. And so it gives you a second pick-and-roll player on the floor.”

“Sometimes we all tend to measure what a guy shoots, but there’s other things that he’s bringing and just being on the floor to create space. Sometimes that’s what you need, the space.”

On Josh Hart’s improving shooting and trusting him/his players as long as they work on their skills...

“He’s put in a lot of work. I say it to all our guys. I see what you do before practice, in practice, then after practice... and as long as you’re working on your shots, if you’re open, I want you to let it go.”

Jalen Brunson

On the ongoing struggles of the Knicks, moving on to the next game, and improving during the remainder of the regular season and into the playoffs...

“We’re on to Cleveland, for sure. We clearly need to be better. We can definitely learn from our past. We can be upset for the rest of today, until we fall asleep. But tomorrow morning, we’ve got to be focused on the next one. Keep our spirits up, keep our confidence up.”

“We all need to work hard individually to be confident. Just come in the next day ready to go, keep trusting each other, and keep chipping away.”

“You can’t hit home runs all the time, just keep hitting singles.”

On what he said to Chris Paul when he declined to be helped up by the Warriors player...

“First, I got the utmost respect for Chris. I’ve known him since high school, he’s got a relationship with my dad,...”

“It’s all love before and after the game, but during the game, if I get knocked down, I prefer my teammates to help me up no matter what the situation is. So, he came to pick me up, but I was just like ‘Nah, I can’t right now.’ That’s all I said.“

Josh Hart

On in his increasing (unsustainable?) playing time, topping at 47+ minutes in Thursday’s game against Golden State...

“As a competitor, I want to play. If I went out, especially if we were making a run and I got out, I’m mad, you know what I mean? I want to play as much as I can.”

On what missing open shots mean to him and how it impacts his game...

“You do that (miss open shots), you make it a little tougher offensively because you’re not making shots. Teams are playing off and it doesn’t give guys like [Jalen Brunson], [Julius Randle],[Donte DiVincenzo], now [Alec Burks], and OG [Anunoby], lanes to cut and drive. That’s the frustrating thing. Feels more so like you’re letting the team down.”

On improving his shooting percentages as the season has progressed and what he worked on...

“Just continuing to work on it. I think this was the first All-Star [break] that I—normally I let my body rest, All-Star, don’t do anything. This one I was in the gym every day, trying to get back to the basics. Then when I go out there, (I can) not think and shoot with confidence. If teams are going to play off of me, I’ve got to be confident to take and make shots.”

“Tried to tweak some stuff, keep the elbow in. Try to get the ball off my palm as much as I can.”

Donte DiVincenzo

On playing with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Steph Curry and what makes them similar/different...

“Steph and Giannis have a lot of differences, obviously in how they play the game, but the similarity is how they approach every single day and how they want to be the best in the NBA and how they want to be the best person on your team.”

“The gap between [Steph] and the next guy in terms of pure work is insane, and I was only around it for not even 12 months.”

“Giannis, I spent four years with him and every single day he was in the gym, even days where you have blackout days where no one is allowed in the gym he’s still there so I think you know it’s a credit to them how much time and effort they put in and playing with them is so much fun.”

“It’s like one of those things you get to tell your kids after all the basketball stuff is over.”

Bojan Bogdanovic

On missing all of his seven field-goal attempts in Thursday’s loss to the Warriors...

“I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in my career on other teams, but the team needs me more. I’ve gotta be better, more aggressive, especially when we are missing a lot of wide-open shots. We gotta stick together and try to get the next one.”

On playing off the bench as a member of the second unit instead of starting games...

“I mean, it’s different, because I’ve been a starter all my career. But it’s nothing new—the game is the same coming off the bench or starting. I’ve gotta adjust. I have a lot of experience. I have to be better than I’ve played.”