There was heated debate at the trade deadline about the value of New York's young players. I was a tepid optimist.
RJ Barrett is solid, bulldozing to the rim over the last two months.
Obi Toppin is tougher to project, but his combination of speed and feel will amount to something with more opportunity.
Immanuel Quickley was a bit of a mystery box. Fans love him. He plays with irresistible bravado and fearlessness. He also operates the pick-and-roll with a staccato tempo that can be hard for teammates to gauge. Just when you think Quickley has daylight to probe further, he pulls up for an ultra-long floater; only about 10% of Quickley's shots have come at the rim, near the bottom for his position. He is sometimes shoot-first to a fault.
But New York has handed Quickley more responsibility with
Kemba Walker and
Derrick Rose gone, and he has perked up his playmaking.
Over the last five weeks, Quickley is averaging 21 points, 7.4 rebounds (wow!), and 5.4 dimes per 36 minutes on 47% shooting -- including 43% from deep. He has a tidy 2.85-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio in that span.
He's passing more often out of the pick-and-roll, per Second Spectrum, and you can see him manipulating defenses:
Portland Trail Blazers -- what's left of them -- scrunch
Jericho Sims from both sides. Quickley wants to hit him anyway. He gazes at one of New York's shooters -- it's hard to tell which one -- and that eye fake freezes both help defenders. Boom.
Quickley would not have made that pass three months ago, and might not have even thought to try it.
For the season, the Knicks have scored 1.01 points per possession directly out of Quickley pick-and-rolls -- 49th among 215 guys who have run 100-plus such plays, per Second Spectrum.
I'm still not sure what Quickley is: backup or starter, point guard or off-guard, or some combination depending on team context. He's shooting below 40% for the second straight season.
But he's only 22, and his improved passing bodes well for him grasping a real role on a good team someday. The Knicks are plus-6.1 points per 100 possessions with Quickley on the floor, and minus-6.7 when he sits. Quickley may not even rank among the top five reasons for the maddening gap between New York's miserable starters and go-go bench, but he's doing something right.
