Knicks might need Immanuel Quickley at point guard in Game 2
No one has embodied the Knicks’ “next man up” mentality all season more than Immanuel Quickley.
The slumping Sixth Man of the Year finalist could be called upon again to step in Tuesday night with starting point guard Jalen Brunson questionable for Game 2 against the Heat with a sore right ankle.
Quickley averaged 22.6 points and 5.1 assists in 21 starts this season, but he’s scored just 9.0 points per game on 34 percent shooting in six appearances off the bench in the postseason.
“Just doing anything the teams needs me to do to win,” Quickley said after practice Monday, before Brunson’s injury status was revealed. “It’s playoffs, so it’s not really about necessarily what you’re doing, but how you’re doing it and how you can help the team win. That’s what I’m here to do.”
Whether he starts in Game 2 or not, Quickley vowed that the Knicks will “shoot better [Tuesday], for sure” after they missed 27 of 34 attempts from 3-point range in Game 1.
Immanuel Quickley has managed 9.0 points per game on 34 percent shooting in six appearances off the bench in the postseason. Getty Images
Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson is questionable for Game 2. Charles Wenzelberg
Quickley was 1-for-4 from downtown in the opener, and he’s connected on 28.0 percent (7-for-25) from deep in the postseason.
“It’s going to go in eventually,” Quickley said. “The ball just didn’t go in. I went through something like this in the regular season and everybody was questioning [me]. I don’t ever question myself. I work too hard to do that.
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“Continue to just see what I can do to continue helping the team and continue shooting with confidence.”
Mitchell Robinson wasn’t listed on the injury report after saying he was “very” banged up after landing on his hip on a hard fall in Game 1.
“He’s nicked up, but I think this time of year, particularly playoffs, you have players … that’s part of this,” Tom Thibodeau said. “And so, obviously, we don’t want anyone out there who’s injured, but if you’re hurting, you gotta get through that type of stuff. So, he’s physical. There’s a lot of banging going on in this series. So just keep going.”
Quentin Grimes played only 10 minutes off the bench in Game 1 after missing the final two games of the first round against Cleveland with a shoulder issue.
Asked if he plans to continue to start Josh Hart, who has averaged 43.3 minutes over the past three games, Thibodeau replied, “We’ll see. Everything is on the table.
“I didn’t know where Quentin would be with contact and the physicality of everything. I like the way he responded. He looked good. So, we’ll see.”
Source: New York Post
