Why the Knicks need to let Immanuel Quickley get his shots up

Knicks’ Immanuel Quickley is already among the best pull up 3-point shooters

There are a few levels of shooting in the NBA. There are the knockdown spot-up shooters like Duncan Robinson, Joe Harris, Davis Bertans – guys who primarily play off the ball and are lethal accessories to their team’s primary ball-handlers.

Then there are the players who can handle the ball and hit three-pointers from just about anywhere on the court at any angle. The Stephen Currys, Trae Youngs, Damian Lillards.

While the rookie Immanuel Quickley may not be in the same stratosphere as those players, he does already possess some incredible shot-making ability. For some context on how well Quickley has shot the ball by creating his own shot, we can use this stat from Cleaning The Glass: Of all players who have an equal 3-point percentage to Quickley’s, only 6 of them have as many unassisted threes: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Zach LaVine, Jrue Holiday, Stephen Curry, Jamal Murray, and Mike Conley.

Essentially, when it comes to having to create his own 3-point shot, Quickley is among the best in the game. The Knicks need to utilize that skill set more often.

The duo of Quickley and Rose coming off of the bench has worked well. The new rotation where Elfrid Payton starts but only plays around 15 minutes has had positive results. The next step would be to consistently incorporate Quickley into the lineups at the end of games with Derrick Rose. Make sure this kid is getting his shots up in 20-30 minutes per game.

Not only can he be the beneficiary of Randle and Rose kick-out passes, but he can also create more scoring opportunities for others – the underrated aspect of his game.

Tom Thibodeau seems to have no problem with Quickley taking his deep “4-point line” three-pointers. He needs to take that trust a step further. Coach Thibodeau needs to have that same confidence in Quickley as a ball-handler and someone he can rely on late in games.