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After I caught up with Steve Novak about the early Bird rights ruling and its
impact on his Knicks' future, we reflected on his breakthrough season, talked
about his summer and looked ahead to the fall.


Here's our conversation:

Q: When you look back on your time with the Knicks, what do you pinpoint as
the reasons for getting to this point in your career where you're an
attractive free agent?


Novak: I really do think that if I was a rookie on this team, I just don't
think that I would've had the success that I did. I think I had to mature a
lot, for sure, over the last five years. I do think it was a process for me
and I think that the stars did align a little bit in the sense that I think
for me I was ready for an opportunity, and I think the Knicks worked good for
me. Obviously, I think the team complemented each other very much. I think I
played very well off of Jeremy [Lin] and I think vice versa. If you're not
ready for the opportunity when it comes, it just kind of comes and goes. So I
think a lot of it had to do with timing and taking advantage of an
opportunity.


Q: When you saw, your friend, Shane Battier and the Miami Heat win the
championship, were there any things that triggered ways you and the Knicks
should prepare for next season?


Novak: I really do think that we made strides this year. We didn't make it as
far as we wanted. I think that first round was obviously a tough series for
us with Iman [Shumpert] and Amare [Stoudemire] and Baron [Davis], and those
guys going down -- and Tyson [Chandler] being as sick as a dog in that first
game. I'm not saying that if we were at full strength we would've beat them,
but there's no doubt in my mind if we were at full strength, we would've had
a much, much better shot at beating them. I think we're cultured to winning a
championship than a first-round loss. That's how I feel.


Q: Have you been training at Marquette? I know you spend a lot of time at
your alma mater in the offseason.


see the family and work out at Marquette every day.


Q: What are you working on in the gym?


Novak: I don't think that I'll ever become like a drastically different
player, obviously at this stage in my career. Some summers have just been
really getting my shot up quicker or something strictly related to my shot.
But this summer, for me, my focus is definitely putting the ball on the floor
more, whether it be one dribble or two, or going to the hoop and drawing
fouls and that kind of stuff. I think my big emphasis is going to be
upper-body strength and just being more comfortable putting the ball on the
floor.


Q: I've always enjoyed watching your pre-game routine. It's very meticulous
and focuses on different moves leading into your shot. How did you come up
with that?


Novak: To be honest, it's kind of something that myself and [Knicks assistant
coach] Kenny Atkinson sort of just evolved. I think a lot of it is routine. I
always just really want to have the same routine before every game, and I've
always been a routine kind of guy. Part of it is really just feel. Sometimes
when we get out there, we do maybe a little bit more if we had two days off,
or if it was a back-to-back, we'd do a little less. But generally, it's just
kind of something we put together at the beginning of the season and it
worked good for us.


Q: By the way, congrats on Marquette players Jae Crowder and Darius
Johnson-Odom getting drafted by the Mavericks and Lakers?


Novak: Yeah. I talked to both of them and I'm excited for them; they're going
to have a good time. I think those teams are going to be good fits, and I
think that they're both in great spots for their games. I hope that they
stick.


Q: So I gotta ask, do you have any crazy fishing adventures coming up like
Jared Jeffries just had?


Novak: [laughs] That was pretty funny. I'll tell you what. Jeremy actually
just saw that stuff. I was texting him and I was like, "Did you see that
stuff we were tweeting or what?" And he finally tweeted back. He tweeted me
something to us: "@JaredZwerling statistics show people lose followers
everytime they interact with @stevenovak20 on twitter lol. Be careful!" I was
like, "Jeez, man, that was pretty mean."


Q: Have you had a chance to enjoy the summer a little bit?


Novak: Yeah. We pretty much stay in Milwaukee for most of the summer. We get
away a little bit every now and then, but for the most part we're just here
to see the family and hang out.


Q: How's the little one and his jumpshot coming?


Novak: He's good. [Mack] will be two this month. That's really why we're
here, to see the family and just keep the workouts going. We have a lot of
fun and we relax, too. It's good for the body.


Q: Will you be back in New York in August?


Novak: Yeah, I mean that would be definitely the step two after I sign. I
think that would be the time. I think coach Woody is going to have us doing
some type of running thing earlier, and that will probably be a few weeks
before training camp.


Q: What did you think of Mike Woodson coming back?


Novak: I think it's great. I think that he showed obviously what he brings to
the team when he took over, and I think he's a great fit.





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※ 編輯: skymay          來自: 111.242.17.87        (07/04 12:21)

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