Why Immanuel Quickley Should Be Starting For The New York Knicks

A few months ago the New York Knicks were in the playoffs and fans were begging for head coach Tom Thibodeau to glue Elfrid Payton to the bench. By the time he did, the Knicks were too far gone against the Atlanta Hawks before Trae Young mercifully put them to rest in five games.

Things are a lot different during the 2021-22 NBA season for the New York Knickerbockers as they have experienced a rocky road of regression to the mean, and troublesome fits. The recent loss at the hands of the Memphis Grizzlies puts the Knicks out of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference (albeit, they are a few games out of the 8th spot). They’ve sported a litany of different starting lineups over the course of the season, even resorting to sitting Kemba Walker to solve some of the issues they were dealing with. Yet, they continue to struggle after 52 games.

The most glaring of issues is a core starting lineup that continues to put them behind the eight ball in each and every game that they play. That lineup continues to fare terribly and has been used as much as any lineup in the NBA.

The constant hole digging in the first quarter has created pressure on the 2nd unit to make up leads rather than add on to them. Over the past nine games, the Knicks have averaged over a five point deficit entering the 2nd quarter. The sluggish beginning to games has forced them into some closely contested matches in which they’ve lost.

The question is, how do you fix the problem and which pieces are the best ones to substitute out? Immanuel Quickley replacing Walker in the starting lineup seems like the best move from both the short and long-term perspective — besides the needed offensive style upgrade.

Walker came into the year with the capability of propelling the Knicks to another top-five seed in the Eastern Conference. His theoretical floor spacing and ability to penetrate the rim was supposed to give the Knicks the offensive explosiveness to push them into a more well-balanced team. Instead, the team has been -13.7 points per 100 possessions worse with him on the floor. Walker has not been the only problem, but his defensive flaws have been exacerbated by his teammates while his slow pace has been a further drain on the offense as the main initiator.

Quickley doesn’t solve all of these problems. His shooting has gone cold over the past few weeks; draining only 29.5 percent of his shots over his past 11 games. The thing with the young 22-year-old is that his impact isn’t entirely rooted in his ability to hit shots. Of course his ceiling and overall production will be reliant on that skill, but his influence is felt all over the court.

He offers the best attempt at giving some type of defense at the point of attack. Quentin Grimes has made quite the impression recently, but from the point guard position Quickley is the best bet that the team has. He fights through screens and will often willingly pick up ball handlers before half court.

The tweet highlights Barrett’s defense on Ja Morant, but you can see the defensive motor on full display from Quickley — his effort to fight through the screen, ability to ride the hip of Desmond Bane, and active help defense in giving Morant another defender to deal with — all help create the turnover.

The bigger indicator is the performance of that same starting lineup, but with Quickley in Walker’s place. In a very limited sample size (46 possessions) the lineup is +15.9 per 100 possessions, which is nearly 30 points better than when Kemba is starting with that unit. Obviously the lack of a sample size is an easy thing to use as a counter argument, but the fact that the sophomore has provided some seriously positive results with that unit is reason enough to finally give it a true run.

The numbers for Quickley are a bit down across the board from last season, but pushing him into the starting point guard role allows the organization to fully flesh out his potential. He is deemed one of the more important players on the team due to his youth and penchant for scoring, yet it already seems like Thibodeau is pigeonholing him into a scoring guard off the bench role. That may very well be what he becomes but capping his ceiling at 22 on a mediocre team and an underperforming veteran playing in front of him seems like bad business.

Once upon a time, Zach LaVine was a combo guard without a carved out future. He started in less than half of the the Minnesota Timberwolves games during his first two years and played a huge chunk of his minutes at the point guard position as a rookie. That rate starter to dwindle by the season, but the effort helped the basketball world identify exactly how good he could be and where he could succeed on the basketball court.

The Knicks need to utilize the rest of this season as an auditioning tape for Quickley to see if he has the chops to make it as a starting caliber point guard. Not only will it aid his development, but it should allow the team an opportunity to succeed as a starting unit. Something they have failed to do since October.

It’s the chance for Thibodeau to make the right change at point guard. Hopefully for the Knicks he realizes it before it’s too late.