The Knicks’ Secret Sauce: New backcourt duo could dominate

The New York Knicks may have lost a heartbreaker in Miami, but it doesn’t mean the loss came without any silver linings. Derrick Rose played his first game for the team since being traded from the Pistons, and he came out with a bang.

Rose came off of the bench and finished the game with 13 points while shooting 5-9 from the field to go with 3 assists in just 20 minutes. Every time he was on the floor, the offense looked sharper.

It wasn’t just Rose, but the whole 2nd unit looked in-sync. The entire Knicks’ bench finished as a +36. Every player finished with a positive +/-.

The Knicks starters? They finished as a -46. Every player finished with a negative +/-.

Knicks – Rose & Quickley: Speed Kills

The impact of the 2nd unit was felt immediately. Rose and Quickley subbed in together at the 3:27 mark of the first quarter while the Knicks were down 25-17. They cut into the Heat’s lead and the quarter ended with the Heat up just 27-25.

Despite a lot of his recent strong performances, Quickley didn’t have a great night shooting the ball. A lot of that was due to the Heat were bringing constant double teams on Quickley any time he was on the court.

Rose talked about the attention Quickley was getting after the game and said:

"“It shouldn’t be too hard with him. We’re similar. He’s getting double-teamed in his rookie year. There ain’t too many rookies getting that type of attention. For him to see that kind of early, it’s just going to make his game better.”"

The attention that Quickley received allowed Rose to annihilate the Heat backcourt. Rose was able to get consistent penetration seemingly every time drove to the basket. The ball was moving around at a rapid pace, something you will rarely see from the Knicks’ starters.

Both Rose and Quickley are instant-offense players in their own ways. Quickley is a lights out shooter while Rose is a relentless attacker of the rim. They can both create offense for others, and for opposing teams to have to defend against them with their bench players, well, that will always give the Knicks a significant advantage.

As other teams’ starters get subbed out towards the end of the first quarter, the Knicks get to bring on two dynamic scorers in the backcourt. It’s a luxury.

The scoring punch and drastic shift in offense immediately got the Knicks back into the game against the Heat, and who’s to say the yin-and-yang of the two units won’t continue to be effective?

Knicks: The harmony of the 2nd unit

While Rose and Quickley were the catalysts, the rest of the Knicks’ 2nd unit looked like they fit perfectly alongside them. The versatility of Obi Toppin got to shine through by running pick-and-rolls with the speedy Rose. It’s exciting to think about how this backcourt duo will be sharing the floor with Toppin — It should continue to get him good looks.

Alec Burks is someone we know can create his own shot, so when other teams are rotating and shading towards Rose or Quickley, it gives Burks a lot of real estate to work with. Both he and Toppin actually have some space to breathe.

Then there’s Nerlens Noel, and while we know his offensive game is limited, his defense has been nothing short of spectacular. This 2nd unit does not have nearly the same size or strength on defense that the Knicks’ starters do, and Nerlens Noel helps compensate for that.

Having Noel as the last line of defense on the 2nd unit is a godsend. Noel ranks 9th among all centers in the NBA in defensive real plus/minus. While there may be some struggles on defense from the perimeter players on the 2nd unit, they have a true defensive anchor to help them clean it up.

Quickley and Rose will surely be used in other parts of the Knicks’ rotation at the end of the games. I think everyone wants to see the supercharged lineup of Rose-Quickley-Barrett-Randle-Robinson at some point, and I would assume it’s something Thibodeau will experiment with.

For now, when the Knicks starters come out of the game towards the end of the 1st and 3rd quarters, the team has a deadly backcourt that can take over the game. The pressure that Quickley and Rose can put on opposing 2nd units should continue to be relentless. The Knicks may have just figured out a formula that takes the team to another level.