The New York Knicks will tip-off against the Detroit Pistons at Madison Square Garden in two short hours. The time has finally come for the Knicks to begin their 2022-23 season. It’s only the preseason, but there’s plenty for fans to look forward to after a long six months.
In July, fans got to watch New York compete in the Summer League. Quentin Grimes stole the show and earned a spot on the All-NBA Summer League First Team. The 22-year-old only played in 46 games during his rookie season, but he was still able to put his potential on display during that time, and his stint in Vegas excited the fan base that much more.
The show that Grimes put on during the summer along with the Jalen Brunson signing was enough for fans to start to call for him to be the starting shooting guard in place of Evan Fournier. At Media Day, Tom Thibodeau said that Fournier is the “frontrunner” to start, but soon after that, it was revealed that Grimes was in a walking boot and wasn’t practicing.
Knicks’ Quentin Grimes has been in walking boot due to minor left foot soreness. Considered day to day.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) September 28, 2022
Will Quentin Grimes make his 2022-23 debut during the Knicks’ preseason?
Quentin Grimes is out for New York’s preseason opener with a sore left foot, and based on what Thibodeau said on Monday, there seems to be a chance that he won’t make an appearance during the preseason. Thibodeau said:
"“He’s doing a little more each day. We feel we don’t want to rush [him] right now,” Thibodeau said of Grimes after Monday’s practice in Tarrytown. “Do what you can and then progress step by step, make sure we’re good.”"
Following tonight’s game, the Knicks will have three more preseason contests with the final one being on Oct. 14 against the Washington Wizards. Five days after that, New York will start the regular season in Memphis. Thibs said that he doesn’t want to rush Grimes back, so it’s looking as if he won’t make his 2022-23 debut until the regular season.
The Knicks should play it safe with Grimes, especially since he missed time last year due to a knee injury. There isn’t a need for him to sustain a more serious injury during the preseason. Of course, this means that Fournier will most likely be the starter to begin the season. Depending on how he looks alongside Brunson (spoiler alert: it likely won’t look good), that could push Thibodeau to put Grimes in the starting lineup when his foot is no longer an issue.
New York kept Grimes out of Donovan Mitchell trade talks for a reason, so continuing to stash him behind Fournier wouldn’t make sense, nor would it help the team. But for now, Grimes’ main focus should be to get healthy, and once that happens, Fournier’s minutes should drop as the result of coming off the bench.
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