Knicks Bulletin: “Don’t know him. But I will beat him to a pulp.”

It’s time for Round 2 of the NBA Battle Royale as the Knicks will host the Pacers in New York for Game 1 of their second-round matchup on Monday, May 6.

New York took a few days off but went back to work throughout the weekend getting ready for what’s coming to town to start the week, which is a very resilient and spry team led by an All-Star point guard. Sounds familiar?

Here is what some Manhattanites and Hoosiers have said leading up to Monday’s affair.

Tom Thibodeau

On the Indiana Pacers and what they’ll bring to the Knicks table...

“The strengths of their team, that’s not gonna change. They’re an uptempo team. I think they average 113 in the playoffs. So we know that we gotta protect our basket.”

”They’ve got good shooting, point guards. They’ve got Siakam. They’ve got [Myles] Turner. So they got a lot of weapons. A lot of pick-and-rolls. You got multiple point guards on the floor at the same time, so a lot of slips, a lot of flares.”

”The main thing is the strengths of the players doesn’t change. You gotta know what they do and you gotta know them inside and out.”

On Jimmy Butler’s comments...

“Who? Don’t know him. But I will beat him to a pulp.”

Jalen Brunson

On Tyrese Haliburton...

“Great player. Didn’t really know him until—like, I knew of him, we met a couple of times—but we didn’t really become friends until last summer.”

”Great guy, great family. He became one of my friends, obviously through that [experience at the FIBA World Cup], and I have all the respect in the world for him and the way he plays the game.”

“He goes out there and plays the right way and does what he needs to do.”

On the matchup against Indiana and how to attack and defend the Pacers...

“You’re always adjusting. You can’t, I guess, force a team to play your style. It depends on game by game, what’s going on.”

“After the first game, we’re going to have to adjust whether we win or lose. Adjusting is how you win these types of things.”

“Obviously, we want to play Knicks basketball, they’re going to try to play Pacers basketball. It’s going to be a grind. It’s going to be a battle.”

On the Knicks vs. Pacers rivalry...

“Whatever happened in the past is in the past. We’ve got to learn from it and move on. So going into this series we just know that this team runs the floor, they share the ball, they’re a good shooting team, they play fast, all that stuff. We have to know we have a really good team coming to New York.”

OG Anunoby

On what makes the Pacers dangerous...

“They get the ball out quick, throw it ahead. They get up a lot of threes. They just play really fast, probably the highest pace in the league, the way they play. So it’ll be challenging for us to get back on defense.”

On the preparation getting into a new series, this time against Indiana...

“It’s an emphasis in film. Coach does a good job preparing us for that and we know coming into it to be ready for that. Definitely from game one to the next game to the next, the game changes. You learn more about an opponent each game and you’re more prepared, of course, as well. The playoffs is just naturally slower tempo.”

On how the Knicks will try to limit Pascal Siakam’s production...

“Just to try to make him uncomfortable. He’s a great player. He can shoot from really far. So just try to pick him up early and dictate which direction he goes. Don’t let him choose which direction he goes—force him away and then go from there.”

Josh Hart

On his comments about not liking Indiana...

“I love Indiana. Indiana’s a great city. They have a lot of things going for them, like I always said, [such as] Long’s Bakery. Indiana’s a good city.”

On whether or not he expects to get booed in Games 3 and 4 in Indy...

“I hope not, man, I love Indiana, but do I think I’ll probably get booed? Probably. It’s funny. But for me it’s always like, I don’t mind it. That’s their job. Their job is to boo, to get loud, cheer for their team.”

“So, like I said, as long as I can get some Long’s Bakery donuts I’ll be solid.”

On Donte DiVincenzo’s assignment on Tyrese Haliburton and its importance...

“It’s gonna be huge. So obviously Donte’s gonna have to be—his defense and being solid is going to be huge for us.”

“When Tyrese picks up the pace, he’s an engine unto himself.”

On playing in New York City and in the playoffs...

“Growing up playing basketball these are the moments that you dream of, these are the moments that you prepare for. These are moments that you want. In those moments or those games, for me, I love it just because the energy is there, the competitiveness. That’s the biggest thing for me.”

On Jimmy Butler’s comments...

“I don’t know why my name came up. I’m over here, just vibing, minding my own business, trying to have fun. That’s all.”

Donte DiVincenzo

On his upcoming matchup with Pacers star point guard Tyrese Haliburton...

“It’s not about taking away things from him: It’s collectively outscoring them and limiting what they want to do. You’re not going to take [him] away. He’s an All-Star for a reason.”

“It’s collectively what [Haliburton] wants to get to, and what do we want to take away? What do we want to live with throughout the series, and it’s gonna be a back-and-forth battle of that.”

“You’re not going to go into a matchup and just say all right we’re going to take away X, Y, Z and you’re just going to take it away. They’re too good to do that. You just try to slow them down.”

“It’s competing. No matter what Tyrese likes to get to, if you compete hard enough on the ball, it takes some of that stuff away.”

On his strong defense on Tyerese Maxey in the Game 6 victory over Philadelphia...

“I was very locked in for that game, honestly. The series initially wasn’t going personally my way; but also it was that internal conversation of getting myself going guarding Tyrese and getting back to who I am.”

Obi Toppin (Indiana Pacers Player)

On how he’s approaching the series against his former team...

“I feel like I’m preparing myself just like I did for Milwaukee. Just locking into everything the coaches are telling us to do offensively and defensively, and playing my role.”

On who his family will be rooting for...

“Jacob’s not playing, so probably me.”

Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers Player)

On his relationship with Jalen Brunson...

“Literally the first call I had after we made the playoffs was a FaceTime with Jalen. So we’re pretty good friends, but it’s competition and fully excited to play against those guys.”

On his time with Brunson and Josh Hart while playing for Team USA...

“I kind of got roped into that group. It was fun, we have a group chat that we talk in all the time, those are good friends of mine. So I’m excited for all the shenanigans of who Josh Hart is as a human being, and just excited to play against those guys.”

Charles Oakley (Former NBA Player)

On Brunson being the best Knicks player since Walt Frazier...

“And Brunson, I’m telling you, Brunson’s the best thing since Walt Frazier. I know somebody gonna say, ‘What about Patrick (Ewing) and Carmelo (Anthony)?’ OK, they didn’t do this. I mean, you know, they got a chance to show. We need more players. Brunson’s playing without Julius (Randle), and what he’s doing man, hey, it’s incredible. Keep doing it.”

Mark Jackson (Former NBA Player)

On Brunson not being the best Knicks player since Walt Frazier (in response to Oakley’s comments)...

“We love Oak, but Oak made Jalen Brunson’s greatest New York Knicks basketball player since Clyde Frazier. Time out. Are you kidding me? I love you Oak, but what are we doing?”

”Let me introduce you to the greatest, not just since Clyde Frazier, the greatest New York Knicks basketball player of all time. That includes everybody. You include everybody that ever played in the blue and orange and you put them on the draft board, the number one pick is Patrick Ewing.”