The New York Knicks have a crowded roster heading into the season but that might not slow down Immanuel Quickley.
Heading into his sophomore season, expectations are somewhat tempered for Quickley. There might be more conceivable paths to big numbers than anticipated.
New York Knicks: Immanuel Quickley year-2 breakout?
What exactly does a “break-out” look like for Immanuel Quickley? A player who played a limited role last season but was able to shine through and land on the All-Rookie 2nd-Team?
It’s a combination of two things: An increased role as well as a jump in individual talent.
Has Immanuel Quickley developed in critical areas of the game?
He’s already carved out a role in the NBA as a sharpshooter and microwave scorer. Quickley can continue to be precisely that, but with some added elements to his game.
Did anyone expect the 25th overall pick, who was a projected 2nd rounder in many mock drafts, to play a big role for the New York Knicks last season? It’s a reminder that sometimes talent is too hard to ignore and will force a player into the rotations of even the most stubborn coaches.
First, let’s look at the roster and how Quickley can find his way.
New York Knicks: Immanuel Quickley’s path to playing time
Easily the biggest obstacle standing in Immanuel Quickley’s way are the players in front of him.
New York brought back Derrick Rose and Alec Burks and signed Kemba Walker as the team’s new starting point guard. There are going to be some newly added elements to the offense with Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier in the fold.
What we have to realize with Walker is that his playing time probably won’t be all that different from Elfrid Payton’s last season. Payton finished the season averaging 23.6 minutes per game and that was with his decreased playing time towards the end of the season. Quickley is going to at the very least have his same set playing time/role to start the season.
There’s a reason the Thunder couldn’t find a trade partner for Walker and the New York Knicks were able to sign him for so cheap. The knee is going to be an issue.
The hope is that it won’t be an issue when he’s on the court. Walker was still a high-level player when he was on the court last season and he should continue to put up solid numbers with the Knicks.
I hate predicting injuries. What we can reasonably predict is missed time due to maintenance and rest, and that will certainly be the case for both Kemba Walker and Derrick Rose.
Rose hasn’t played in at least 70% of his team’s games since his first Knicks tenure in 2016-17. Walker, who missed half the season last year due to his knee condition, will likely miss some time to ensure he’s at full strength when he suits up and is fresh come playoff time.
For you fantasy football players out there, I like to think of this situation to the spry young rookie running back being drafted into a crowded backfield of veterans.
Think of New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara in his rookie season.
Kamara was playing behind Mark Ingram and Adrian Peterson, which we can laugh about now, but at the time, he was firmly number 3 on the depth chart behind two proven veterans. Yet with the wear and tear of the season, Kamara found his way through the mud and broke out.
Peterson and Ingram weren’t even washed! Ingram went on to be a top-10 fantasy running back for the Baltimore Ravens next season, and Adrian Peterson ran for 1000 yards in Washington.
Am I saying Quickley has RB1 upside this season? No, the turnover of NBA players is much less perpetual than the shuffling of a modern-day NFL backfield. He’s probably more of a flex play.
Still, let’s not just assume there’s zero path to an increased role for Immanuel Quickley. There’s plenty of reason to believe he’s made some strides in his game as well.
New York Knicks: Immanuel Quickley’s development
We know that Immanuel Quickley will step into his familiar sparkplug-scorer role. He could be in store for more.
Where do we begin with young Immanuel Quickley, who already jumps off the page with his advanced metrics where he led all 2020-21 rookies in some categories. I think the most natural initial developments people will want to see are added moves to his scoring arsenal.
Quickley knows how to find his spots. Pull-up 3s are what jump out, but the ability to get defenders to bite on pump fakes as well as his floater game were both major parts of his bag.
For Quickley, finding new ways to score and getting stronger finishing towards the rim are going to key in his scoring development.
There are other components to his game that go beyond scoring. The one we’ve seen most recently is his ability to play point guard and run an offense.
Quickley lit up the summer league as the New York Knicks point guard and there is clearly talent there as a playmaker. Don’t forget Quickley played point guard in high school and in AAU alongside other future NBA talent.
There were times last year when injuries happened and Thibodeau would use Alec Burks as the sort of the “emergency point guard” in lineups. I actually think Quickley can take that duty from Burks this season.
Alec Burks is a very underrated ball-handler, which is why Thibodeau leaned on him over his rookie. We’ve now seen a sizeable sample from Quickley as a point guard where I do think he can take on those duties. Thibodeau believes in him.
Even Immanuel Quickley’s defense flies under the radar. No, he’s not a “shutdown defender”. Yes, he was inconsistent as a defender in his rookie season.
Still, it feels like because he has a skinny build and is known as a scorer, there’s a lazy assumption that he’s just some sort of negative defender. With Immanuel Quickley on the court last season, the Knicks defense gave up 3.9 fewer points per 100 possessions.
Who are the elite defenders in the New York Knicks’ backcourt? Right now, I’m not sure that anyone outside of rookie Miles McBride has the footspeed and wingspan to be a disruptive defender against opposing point guards.
Immanuel Quickley’s playing time may seem murky right now. It’s something that isn’t exactly at the top of the team’s priority list.
This is a group that is trying to win now, they’re not in the business of developing young players over being competitive. When the Knicks take on the Boston Celtics to open the season, I’d expect Quickley to take on an identical role to what he had last season.
However, once the wear and tear of the season begins to take its toll, the spry young sophomore might find himself taking the court as one of the team’s key players.
Forget per game stats when it comes to rookies. We saw Immanuel Quickley’s unique talent every time he was on the floor last season. Don’t be shocked if that talent blossoms this season and never looks back.