Knicks Bulletin: “I don’t give a (expletive) about what Reed said.”

The day has arrived as the New York Knicks will host the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on Saturday evening to kick off their first-round playoff series.

The Knicks held a second practice on Friday ahead of today’s contest and they took to the mic right after it, discussing a few thoughts that have been in their minds for nearly a year and some other recent topics.

Here is what we heard from the folks on Friday just a few hours before they try to get an advantage over Philly on Saturday.

Tom Thibodeau

On his daily routine and commitment to coaching...

“When the work gets done, you leave. I look forward to coming in every day. Sometimes, I’m sitting there and I’m like, I might as well go. Whatever time that is, I go. It’s just getting the most out of your team. Whatever that is. I think you only get satisfaction from knowing you did everything you possibly could to get the most out of your team. And once you do that, that’s all you can do. So let the chips fall where they fall. But I never have regrets because I know what I’m putting into it.”

On not thinking about what went wrong last year and focusing on the present...

“Last year doesn’t really have anything to do with this year. It’s a different year, that’s how you approach it.“

“Oftentimes, it’s what are you going through. We had Julius, who went out last year. This year, we had more time to prepare with the way we’re playing now.”

On the improvement shown by Bojan Bogdanovic during the home stretch...

“I love the way he’s playing. Each game, he’s gotten more rhythm, and I think a lot of it has to do with, now you’re getting your players back, too. So there’s some continuity to it.”

On Jalen Brunson getting over last year’s playoffs loss...

“He’s been in a lot. And I think he’s shown how well he handles those moments. He has the unique ability to go up a level. So that’s what makes him who he is. I think each experience teaches him something. And I think he’s grown, he continues to grow. I think all the things he’s done are part of his development.”

On Paul Pierce having the “Clutch Gene” that Patrick Ewing before him and Brunson after seem to also have...

“The thing that stood out is he went through his own workout two hours before the rookies and then he watched the rookies work out and then he eventually joined the rookies. I think it goes back to what gives you that [clutch] gene. I think a big part of that is the confidence you get from preparation.”

“All those shots he hit, I can remember him a million times in practice, working on every one of those things. He too had an incredible drive and when you couple that with [Celtics teammates Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen], that made that group incredible.”

On comparing Brunson to other Knicks legend until his career is over...

“It’s probably easier to have that conversation when someone is done and you look at it in totality to say this is what he accomplished.”

“I know how lucky I’ve been. I’ve been around a lot of great players, whether it be Patrick [Ewing] or David Robinson or Dikembe [Mutombo] and Garnett, Pierce, Ray Allen. And Derrick [Rose]. I’m sure I’m leaving a lot of guys off. But I think when you get to that level, it’s a very unique and special level. You’re talking the top of the top.”

On the Knicks and Sixers finally being in the fight for a title at the same time...

“For younger older folks like myself, you think back to like when you were growing up, it always seemed like New York and Philly and Chicago were always on TV. It was a different world back then but that’s the beauty of the league. You have two great basketball cities.”

Jalen Brunson

On Tom Thibodeau’s approach to coaching...

“Yes, he’s passionate, but we all understand he’s prepared. So, he’s not yelling at us for some BS thing that probably didn’t happen. It’s never really something that as a player you can say, ‘I didn’t do that.’ He’s preparing us so he wants us to be proactive.”

On Thibs’ loud communication...

“One thing when I was growing up that I learned from my dad is whenever he’s yelling, it’s not really him yelling. You have to understand what he’s actually saying and pull the message from the actual tone of voice or whatever. I think him yelling and screaming is better than him not caring at all.”

On beating opponents that double-team him...

“Just knowing that I have guys, when they put two on the ball, you’re basically playing 4-on-3 and we have the advantage, and we understand how we can get the best shot possible. We just attack, attack, attack, and then see what the defense is gonna do and then read it.”

On how much he’s thought about the Game 6 loss to Miami last season...

“A lot more than you would think.”

“We are in a position where we could have forced the Game 7, and I made a terrible decision. I had to live with that throughout the whole summer.”

On what he learned from last year’s postseason loss...

“I’ve grown to realize that to be able to be the best player you can be, you need to be able to read situations at a high level at all times. You can’t be flustered when there’s a certain amount of ticks on the clock and you’re down that many points, and stuff like that. I think I learned that last year in Game 6 when it really mattered, and I didn’t show up. It’s always a learning process.”

On the “Clutch Gene”...

“It’s a thing, for sure. Some people are born with it, some people work for it. It comes with your confidence, it comes with your work ethic, it comes with being able to breathe and have that moment of not being flustered. A lot of things go into that.”

On Paul Reed’s comments about the Knicks being an “easy” first-round opponent...

“[We are] focused and just eager to get things started. Very eager to get things started.”

On loving high-stakes basketball and taking part on big moments...

“I mean, why else do you work hard? Why else do you want to do things like this? I mean, you work for moments like these and now it’s just time to go out there and just focus on Game 1 and see what we got.”

Josh Hart

On Paul Reed’s take...

“I don’t give a (expletive) about what he said. I could really care less.”

On what he’s changed going from regular-season conditioning to the playoffs...

“I’m not drinking as much wine, so I guess that’s my playoff mode. Taking a little break off from some vino. But, that’s about it. It’s business as usual. I’m in this position for a reason. I’m not going to change up too much stuff. Maybe some diet stuff, to make sure that I have that energy.”

On the Game 6 loss to the Heat...

“The only time I talked about it was just to let [Brunson] know that I was open at the top of the key. Wide-open.”

”We’ve made jokes about it, because the way my college career ended, I think I lost the ball or got stripped, and we lost, and that’s how my college career ended. He said he was open. And then last year, it was the other way around. I was open. So sometimes we talk about it, but that’s something I know he thinks about.”

On having that loss in mind for the past few months and using it as extra motivation going against the Sixers...

“Whenever you lose to a team, you think about everything. This summer, I know he thought about it. This summer, all I thought about was Miami, and then obviously I was with Spo [Erik Spoelstra] and USA Basketball. So all we thought about this summer was what we could have done against Miami to move on.

“That’s what we’ve got to fuel us to now in terms of what can we do, what can we do better against Philly to move on to the second round.”

Isaiah Hartenstein

On what awaits the Sixers at MSG...

“Knicks fans are going to give us a lot of energy. They make the regular season sound like the playoffs, so it gives me goosebumps to think about what they’ll make the playoffs sound like.”

On Paul Reed preferring to face the “easier” Knicks...

“That’s his thoughts at the end of the day. We’re focused on what we gotta do. I think that’s what podcasts do, they make sure they get you comfortable and then people just say (expletive). At the end of the day, we’re focused on us – whatever comments they have, they have. We’re focused on our team. Getting better every day.”

OG Anunoby

On changing his game heading into the playoffs...

“Yeah, [I’m] definitely being more aggressive with my shot more [in the playoffs]. Just making the right play.”

Kelly Oubre (Philadelphia 76ers Player)

On Madison Square Garden’s Celebrity Row...

“They’re gonna give celebrities those $100,000 [worth of] free tickets just to be there and not care about the game. That’s what they do.”