The New York Knicks officially unofficially played basketball yesterday, and I can’t be happier about an opponent’s win.

As Russell said in his Scenes, we’ll give them belt when it counts, but for now, all I needed was some Orange and Blue hoops in my screen.

Here’s the latest from NYK world coming off Monday’s loss. Get well soon, Huk.

Mike Brown

On playing everyone available in the preseason opener:

“Everybody’s been busting their behind in camp. Everybody’s good people, and it’s our first game. So I’m gonna play everybody. Twenty guys. Jose’s not playing.”

On the Knicks’ lack of physicality in the preseason loss to Philadelphia:

“Most of it, I was okay with (the performance). I just listed things that I saw that I know we can be better at. What bothers me is our lack of physicality throughout the ballgame, and that’s the whole roster, up and down. We weren’t great on the ball physically, and we weren’t great with our defensive positioning physically.

“That I’m concerned about, and I don’t wanna see it happen (again). The rest of the stuff, it’s coach-talk. It’s real, but it’s coach-talk that we’ll clean up watching film and all that stuff. I can’t help with the physicality. That they got to find it individually, which will then turn into collectively. That’s how you find minutes. That’s how you make the team. That’s how you contribute.”

On evaluating the Knicks’ options at center:

“I think just it’s just kind of gut feel. And then we’ll look at production because they’re gonna probably give us different levels of protection in different areas. Tony is just a really smart guy that has a great feel for the game, and when you watch him play, they’re not necessarily sexy, but he’s extremely efficient, and then there are times when it’s like, ‘Oh, my God, he kicked our ass [in the past].

“When you look at Wiseman, he’s younger, he’s a little more raw, he’s a vertical threat. He’s one of the best runners I’ve been around. You can see and feel his length and his athleticism and his potential.

“Then when you look at Drew, just a toughness about him, and you know what you’re gonna get, not tonight, but every fricking night that you go out there, ’cause he’s got a great feel, a great sense of toughness about him, and again, he’s not afraid to do anything against anybody, and his belief is at a pretty high level.

“So they’ll all initially bring something a little bit different, and we’ll just see, at the end of the day, if any of them, in terms of the center spot, fit well enough to be on our team.”

On Mikal Bridges attacking the rim:

“It’s great. He’s long, athletic and smart. He can finish at the rim. He’s capable of playing off of two feet and making a spray because he has a tremendous feel for the game.”

On creating more offensive opportunities for OG Anunoby:

“We have to try and put him in those positions a bit more, but he also has to have a good feel of what he wants and get to his spots. With him being in the system for a year, he’s got a better feel. … We also have a better feel on how to use him. I don’t call a lot of plays, and now he can find the small areas where he can be aggressive offensively. … His natural ability, especially with how hard he works, is showing.”

On wishing Ariel Hukporti a speedy recovery:

“We hope Ariel — whatever is wrong with him — he has a speedy recovery and he’s back on the floor. You hate to see anybody go down with an injury, but especially somebody who is a caliber person who Ariel is.”

On the 76ers’ roster and their status as an Eastern Conference contender:

“You look at their roster, man, it’s just loaded: multiple-time All-Star, multiple-time All-Star, multiple-time All-Star, MVP candidate, MVP candidate, MVP candidate. I remember back in the day, Pop said — when I was an assistant for him — there is a change from having two All-Stars on your team to having three. He brought it to our attention as a staff. He was like, you made at least three NBA All-Stars, and not just one-offs, but perennial All-Stars to go win a championship.

“And this is when we were going against Kobe [Bryant] and Shaq[uille O’Neal] and their [Lakers] team and all that.

“You look at this [Philly] team here, and they’ve got as many All-Stars or guys of that nature as they had in Miami when LeBron was down there. So they’re definitely a deep team, a talented team. Nick Nurse does a phenomenal job. He’s a championship-level coach, and they’re definitely going to be one of the teams that are contending in the East.

“In my opinion, it just got harder for everybody with the team that they assembled here.”

On LeBron James reaching his 24th NBA season:

“The first thing, I guess like year 24 is insane. It’s unheard of. It’s not human. People talk about Wemby being not human because of what he can do for his size. You got to throw LeBron in that category because of his durability and still doing it at the age that he has at a high level. It’s amazing to watch, but if there’s anybody that’s going to do it, he’s going to do it because even when he was young, he was really diligent about taking care of his body and he was not afraid to ask the vets, like Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who was one of the best in terms of taking care of his body, he was not afraid to ask him what he does daily and then follow his lead. So just an amazing, amazing run for one of the all-time greats.”

On the championship-level upgrade to his travel toiletries kit:

“Something has changed: This is kind of cool. So, our equipment guys are great, Kyle, Steve, Will, shout out to them. One of the best in the league, and they give me a toothbrush and toothpaste, mouthwash, and lotion, and all that. And they put it in my locker area, and they usually just carry it in a paper bag or a plastic bag.

“[Now] they put it in one of those travel things. And they set it really nice on my desk, and I go in there today, and these freaking guys, they made a travel case. Like this is where my lotion is. This is where the Kleenex goes. The two travel Listerines, the deodorant, and Sensodyne toothpaste in the back.

“And, it’s foam. It’s in a case, and not only that, you can’t see it, but right here, it says lotion. Right here, it says deodorant. So this is what championship level coaches get, right? I guarantee Nick [Nurse] has this s–t, too.”

Karl-Anthony Towns

On what he wants from a Knicks contract extension:

“Simply put, I want to do something that can keep the team together and that can work with the Knicks, but also values me. And none of those things have come close to happening.”

On wanting to be paid according to his value after winning a championship and not making concessions:

“No s–t, Sherlock. I just got a championship, you thought it’d be pretty easy… unless you guys think I got anything else to prove?”

On the outlook for reaching an extension before the regular season:

“It don’t look good. I mean in my experience, you just appreciate the moments right now and let it go where it goes.”

On how he is handling the lack of an extension:

“Best as anyone could.”

Jalen Brunson

On the Knicks’ preseason opener:

“It’s a good first step. Not a great first step, but as long as we’re making strides in the right direction, it’s something to be happy about. Still a lot for us to learn and be better at early”

On Ariel Hukporti’s injury:

“Definitely heartbreaking. When I came back in the locker room, I went to go check on him. Sad to see. Obviously, we’ll pray for him.”

James Wiseman

On his first game with the Knicks:

“It felt good just trying to contribute to the team”

Shams Charania

On Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart potentially becoming trade candidates if they remain unsigned:

“Josh Hart has already hinted that, as this gets closer to February, which is around the trade deadline.

“The temperature could rise if Karl-Anthony Towns and Hart himself are not extended. So far, these sides are not close.”