The New York Knicks’ Best Players Through First 20 Games
By James Ryder
The Electric Backcourt of Immanuel Quickley and Derrick Rose
I am lumping Derrick Rose and Immanuel Quickley into the same boat for a couple of reasons.
For starters, both of them have overall had great seasons so far.
Rose (11) and IQ (10) have roughly had the same number of appearances in which I would declare as “good to great performances.”
Their pairing off of the bench has been complementary in a way that goes beyond how they play with each other; each player has had a stretch in which they were not at their best, which has thankfully coincided with the other playing very well.
Rose’s struggles have come recently when during his last 2 games he only amassed 13 points shooting an uncharacteristic 5-for-19 from the field.
Aside from the team’s second game of the year vs the Orlando Magic, Quickley was putting up dreadful numbers for roughly nine games, a slump in which he shot 4-for-25 from behind the arc.
For example, take the Knicks’ matchup with the Houston Rockets.
Rose couldn’t find the basket (4 points on 2/8 shooting) but Quickley did great (13 points, 3/5 FG, 2/4 3PT, 5/6 on FT). Both of them played 21 minutes in that game.
While Rose and Quick have definitely performed in quality fashion during the same games, it is encouraging to know that even on nights when one may be off the other can still be a valuable spark for the second unit.
And finally, overall they’ve put up very similar box score numbers.
Rose is averaging 12 points and 3.4 assists in 22.9 minutes per game while shooting 45% from the field, 41.9% from three, and 94% on free throws.
Quickley, who’s played only 3 more games, is averaging 9.3 PPG and 2.5 APG in just 19 MPG with 40.5/36.6/91.4 shooting splits.
All in all, both point guards have done a great job of keeping the Knicks in games where the starters have been unable to gel and produce.
The ability to score and play-make at such a high level in limited time has made Quickley and Rose invaluable to the team, especially when you consider the disappointment that Kemba Walker has been.
Speaking of an offseason addition…