New York Knicks: 3 Takeaways from Summer League game two

Breaking down how the New York Knicks were able to secure a victory.

The New York Knicks came out on top of their second summer league game against the Indiana Pacers by the score of 94-86, bringing them to a record of 1-1 in exhibition play.

After a disappointing loss to kick off the festivities on Sunday evening, it was impressive to see the group bounce back and record a win less than 24 hours later.

After trailing by as many as 8 points in the first quarter, the Knicks went on an 18-5 run in the third to grab a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish for the rest of the afternoon. With the rotation containing at least six players who’ll be on the team’s opening night roster, a win is an extremely positive sign.

Summer league has always been more about individual performances instead of team success, so it’s also great to see that multiple pieces of the team’s future were able to showcase their skills.

As the squad begins to enter the halfway point of their brief summer league season, some players have separated themselves from the others due to a variety of impressive NBA-ready skills. Rookies, sophomores, and some veterans were all able to make an impact on the team’s first August win.

Here are the top 3 takeaways.

New York Knicks: Immanuel Quickley’s success

Many fans expected the All-Rookie 2nd Team member to put on a show in Las Vegas, and he has absolutely done so.

After struggling with efficiency in their opening night loss, Quickley was absolutely unstoppable on Monday afternoon. He recorded 32 points, 8 assists, 2 steals, and just one turnover while shooting 11-21 from the field.

He connected on 4 threes with his signature level of high difficulty and was a perfect 6-6 from the charity stripe. His highlight of the day was a gorgeous stepback triple against lottery pick Chris Duarte, who is actually two years older than IQ.

Through two summer league games, Quickley is averaging 23.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 8.0 assists, and 2.0 steals per game while shooting just over 42% from the floor. He’s showcased his developing playmaking abilities while also further refining his scoring punch.

After struggling with his assist totals and scoring inside the paint as a rookie, it’s clear that he’s spent a lot of time working on improving those areas of his game throughout the offseason.

He’ll likely remain a backup as the regular season begins, as his chemistry with Derrick Rose made the duo one of the most elite bench backcourts in the league. However, these performances are a good indication that he can take over the reins as a starting point guard sometime in the future.

New York Knicks: The bigs are dominating

The New York Knicks have started an extremely athletic frontcourt through their two summer league contests, and the results have been encouraging.

That frontcourt includes Obi Toppin at power forward, last year’s 8th overall pick who showed flashes of offensive firepower in his limited minutes. There’s also Texas center Jericho Sims, the 58th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft who recently signed a two-way contract with New York.

Toppin dropped 22 points and 9 rebounds in their win, including an extremely impressive 3-6 from behind the arc. If he can connect on threes at a higher rate than his 30.6% mark as a rookie, then it helps open up the entire offense.

Through two games he’s averaging 23.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game while shooting 44% from the field.

Sims turned in one of the best highlights of the entire tournament with his ridiculous alley-oop in the team’s first contest. While he didn’t have any jaw-dropping dunks against the Pacers, he still turned in another quality outing.

The 22-year old rookie recorded 8 points and 9 rebounds on Monday, going 4-4 from the floor. He’s averaging 10.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks through two games while shooting a perfect 10-10 on his field-goal attempts.

Sims is looking like another draft steal for the Knicks, and he’ll provide valuable depth at the center position once the regular season comes around.

New York Knicks: Valuable contributions from the rookies

The two most intriguing Knicks to watch at summer league would be rookies Quentin Grimes and Miles McBride, the 25th and 36th picks in the 2021 NBA Draft respectively.

They’re both signed to guaranteed contracts and will likely see a fair amount of minutes with the pros this upcoming season.

McBride has displayed his defensive tenacity, always fighting for loose balls and hounding opposing point guards. He’s also got an extremely smooth pull-up jumper, able to get the ball up from anywhere on the court.

The 20-year old dropped 14 points on an extremely efficient 5-7 shooting, including 2-3 from deep.

Grimes is best known as a 3&D wing, and he’s showcased those abilities so far. He has admittedly struggled with his scoring inside the arc, but his shot looks like it’ll translate. His quick motion and high release point are tailor-made for the NBA level and it’s a big reason why he’s shooting 36% from three on 7 attempts per game through two contests.

He’s also flashed underrated playmaking ability, tallying 6 total assists compared to just 1 turnover during the team’s early action. This includes four assists against Indiana, including a beautiful find to McBride for a dunk that sealed a victory for the Knicks.

New York is getting improvements from returning players to go along with flashes of clear NBA-caliber talent from their rookies throughout the early portion of summer league, which should leave fans excited about what’s still to come.