New York Knicks 2021-22 Report Card: Guards

Five NBA players recorded an OffRtg north of 113 and a DefRtg south of 105 this season: Steph Curry, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Robert Williams and ... Deuce McBride.

With the Knicks' 2021-22 campaign now concluded, let's look back on what proved to be a disappointing season. 

Before handing out a grade, I'll provide a statistical sketch of each player's production. This first installment will focus on the guards, and then we'll examine the wings and forwards in a separate column before wrapping up with the centers.

Immanuel Quickley:
IQ found himself mired in a handful of nasty shooting slumps throughout 2021-22. Over the first three weeks of the season, Quickley averaged just 5.7 points while shooting 30% from the floor and 23% from downtown. Over a brutal 17-game stretch from mid-January through mid-February, he averaged 5.9 PPG while converting just 27% of his FG attempts and 24% of his three-point tries. However, it's important to note that IQ didn't let his inefficient offense impact his effort on the defensive end. He also continued to take care of the basketball and knock down his free throws.

And from the All-Star Break through the end of the season, IQ played at an impressively high level. Over the Knicks' final 19 games, Quickley averaged 16.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.2 made three-pointers despite making only one start and logging just 28.5 minutes a night. The only players to match or exceed IQ's per-game averages in those categories during this six-week stretch to close the regular season were LeBron James, Kevin Durant, LaMelo Ball, Paul George and Luka Doncic. IQ was also one of only two players to average more than five assists and fewer than two turnovers per game over the second half of the season. 

Over the final five games of the year, Quickley averaged 20.0 points, 8.8 assists (vs. just 1.8 turnovers), 7.2 rebounds, 3.0 treys and 1.4 steals. 

And we haven't even discussed his elite free-throw shooting. Over the first 100 games of his career, Quickley hit 221 of the 245 free throws he attempted, making him the first and only player in NBA history to attempt more than 200 freebies and shoot above 90% at the line in the first 100 games of his career. (For those that are curious, Steph Curry ranks second place on this list at 89.2%.)

Quickley, the 25th overall pick in the 2020 draft, has dramatically exceeded exceptions thus far. It will be fascinating to see if New York trusts him enough to name him the starting point guard next season or if they bring in a high-priced PG via free agency or trade. 

Grade: B+