Immanuel Quickley has a concise description of what goes on before the
Knicks practice.
“Oh, it’s strictly business,” he says. “Strictly business.”
That’s especially true for the young fellas.
When the Knicks hold a practice, they actually have two. There’s the regular one you’d expect with the whole team coming in to work on the day’s topics, and there’s also the one that comes before it. Players have aptly dubbed the latter “Early Group.”
Head coach Tom Thibodeau will bring the young players in first thing to run through offensive sets. Every once in a while, a vet will crash the party, but for the most part, this is a time for the 20-somethings to learn the Thibodeau way and to absorb
NBA habits. In two seasons with Thibodeau at the helm, it’s become a Knicks staple.
The 22-year-old Quickley is a regular — as are
RJ Barrett,
Obi Toppin,
Quentin Grimes,
Miles McBride,
Jericho Sims and the rest of the greener talent.
If you ever wonder why the young guys have a sort of intrinsic, on-court connection — why Quickley finds Toppin for lobs as if they’re telepathic, why Toppin moves the ball so instantaneously when Barrett is alongside him — this may be why. They spend an inordinate amount of time together, even if it’s not always during games.
