THE New York Knicks are looking to establish themselves as a defensive-minded team with Tom Thibodeau leading the way. However, it’s ultimately up to the players to do the work.

Two players playing important roles on the defensive side of the ball are Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges, who set the tone and set the Knicks in attack mode looking to force turnovers.

“Mikal takes on the main ball handler and he works on it throughout the game and keeps coming. I think that says a lot about him.” Thibodeau said h/t Posting and Toast. “And (Hart) is going to hustle to get the balls, pick up the pace and do what he does. “If we do that and everyone commits to their strengths and plays defense, we can be good . But we know right now that we’re shorthanded, so we have to play really hard and rebound the ball. We have to do it as a team. If we do this, good things will come out of it.

THE Knicks OG Anunoby also plays a key role on defense as the team looks to become one of the best defensive teams in the league.

While Hart, Bridges and Anunoby lead the way, it takes the entire team playing well on defense to function properly as a unit. If these three set the tone, it trickles down to the rest of the team.

The Knicks are ranked No. 21 in total defense, which is nowhere near where they want to be, so everyone needs to step up to collectively make improvements and move up the ranks.

The Knicks are back in action tonight as they take on Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA Cup opener. The alert is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.

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