Knicks
From the sounds of things, the Knicks will be at the receiving end of James Harden‘s debut with the Clippers on Monday night. So New York will not only get to see Harden, but Clippers teammates Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook.
“[Harden is] another weapon for them,” Knicks guard Jalen Brunson said, via Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. “They have a lot of great players over there. Really impressive résumés and all that stuff, and their careers have been nothing short of spectacular. So, it’s a lot of firepower. We’ve just gotta be ready to go.”
Coach Tom Thibodeau agreed.
“They were a great team before the trade,” Tom Thibodeau said. “Obviously, add another great player to the group, so that’s the challenge that you face every night. We know how good he is, he’s proven that throughout his career. But they’re a lot more than one guy, obviously. We’re going to have to be great for 48 minutes.”
Raptors
The Raptors overcame a 22-point deficit before beating Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs in overtime on Sunday.
A big reason for that was forward Scottie Barnes, who scored 17 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter.
“We didn’t run different plays in the second half,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said, via Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. “It was just our intentions and how aggressive we were doing that in the second half that gave us a chance.”
- Forward OG Anunoby left impressed with Wembanyama. “He’s super unique,” Anunoby told reporters. “I’ve never seen anyone that tall in life. He’s just really tall. Covers a lot of ground. Yeah, he changes the game.”
Pistons
Coach Monty Williams said the Pistons have to start being a little smarter defensively.
“We gotta stop fouling. How many times did we go for a pump fake tonight? How many times did we foul a 3-point shooter?” Williams asked after the Pistons lost to the Suns on Sunday, via Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. “I’m more concerned with that. The foul disparity, you’re going to have that. We’re not going to win games because the officials bailed us out.”
- This game marked Williams’ first against the Suns — the franchise he coached to a Finals appearance in 2019. We have the full story here.
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