NY Knicks: Could Immanuel Quickley start in Game 2?

NY Knicks: Why Immanuel Quickley makes the most sense as the starter

I mentioned how prior to Elfrid Payton’s accelerated plummet into the depths of horrendous basketball that began in the month of May, I was actually fine with his decreased role as the starter.

The NY Knicks have had a great thing going for them with their 2nd unit.

Burks, Rose, Quickley, and Toppin bring such a drastically different brand of basketball than the starters that’s been a nightmare to defend for opponents

In April, Rose began playing an increased role where he ran with the starters at the end of the games while Payton simply started the halves. It kept the 2nd unit ecosystem intact.

Here we are down 0-1, without homecourt advantage, and this team has no choice but to shake up their rotation.

I believe that putting Immanuel Quickley in as the starter not only revamps the lineup to open the halves but also shouldn’t mess up the cohesiveness of the 2nd unit.

Having Derrick Rose coming off the bench has been perfect for the NY Knicks. Aside from his scoring and slashing, he’s a veteran presence who can set up the offense for the 2nd unit. He was a finalist for 6th Man of The Year – it’s a role he’s thrived in.

Derrick Rose and Alec Burks can hold down the initial scoring from the bench.

Not only that, but Rose is already playing heavy minutes. Quickley can simply just take Elfrid Payton’s minutes.

Payton only played 8 minutes in Game 1. Quickley played 21. Rose played 38.

You take Payton’s minutes, give them to Quickley and let him play around 30 minutes per game, all while keeping Burks and Rose in their same roles coming off the bench. Late in the game, we’ll still see plenty of Burks and Rose.

The last point to make here is that it’s not just the logistics of the lineup that make sense when Quickley is the starter.

It feels like this kid is about to explode if he’s given the chance.