Knicks’ Jalen Brunson tuning out preseason noise — the good and the bad

The Knicks enter this season with very different expectations from the outside.

Championship expectations. The belief that they can supplant the defending champion Celtics and win their first crown since 1973.

Inside the MSG Training Center?

Well, that’s a different story. They never talk about it.

“As much as we want to jump back into Game of 7 [of the Eastern Conference semifinals] last year and proceed to where we went, we have to start the journey all over,” Jalen Brunson said Saturday.
Brunson did say the hype is “definitely a great problem to have,” but he also believes it’s important for the Knicks to tune out the outside noise, whether it is positive or negative. They don’t want to feel too good about themselves without doing anything or have the need to prove people wrong.

“Regardless of what people say, whether it’s positive or negative, we have to have mental toughness and just worry about what’s going on inside of this building, inside this organization,” Brunson said. “You can’t listen to the positive and not listen to the negative. That’s just not how it works.”

The mindset, as always under coach Tom Thibodeau, is “get better every single day,” according to Brunson.

Asked if this is the most talented Knicks team he has coached since taking over in 2020, Thibodeau simply said: “We’ll see.”

“Nothing changes. That’s for you guys,” the Knicks coach said, when asked about the expectations. “For us, we can’t skip over anything. Each day, we have to put in all we can. Hopefully we’re building the right kinds of habits that are necessary to be successful to get better and we’ll see where it goes.”

Thibodeau said he doesn’t expect to have a set backup center for Karl-Anthony Towns once the season begins.

He has plenty of options, from young pivots Jericho Sims and Ariel Hukporti to undersized big man Precious Achiuwa and even using OG Anunoby in a small-ball lineup.

“I like the versatility that they bring and the physicality,” Thibodeau said. “That’s important. Obviously you need that depth for a season. We’ll see how it unfolds. Got a long way to go.”

Sims and Hukporti, the No. 58 pick in last June’s NBA Draft, are battling for minutes in a crowded frontcourt.

The 6-foot-11 Hukporti had an impressive preseason debut Wednesday, producing seven points, four rebounds and three steals in 16 minutes.

“One guy’s been in the league a little bit longer and Jericho’s athleticism is very different from most,” Thibodeau said. “Ariel is a young guy coming in, there’s a defensive component to him already. But he has to learn the offensive part of the game, and that’s coming. But both are very good.”