Quickley Posts a Triple-Double (while backing up Burks)

IQ is the only player in the NBA with at least 80 assists and 40 made three-pointers yet fewer than 25 turnovers since the All-Star break.

Happy Monday, y’all. I hope everybody had a wonderful weekend!

The last time we spoke, I was bellyaching about why the Knicks should start Immanuel Quickley at point guard for the remainder of the season. Welp, it didn’t happen. Before I get into the positives from this past weekend’s worth of games, let’s start with the bewildering decisions from New York’s inexplicably stubborn coach. 

Again, for context, the Knicks have officially been eliminated from postseason contention. I mean, they were unofficially out of the race for the better part of the last eight weeks (the team was 13 games under .500 precisely one month ago). Yet, Tom Thibodeau continues to play his veterans extended minutes. 

Even though there are just three games remaining in the 2021-22 season, 30-year-old Alec Burks once again started at point guard in Sunday’s matchup with the Magic. (As an aside, even with their two lottery picks injured, Orlando still started five players age-23 or younger. Mo Bamba was the team’s oldest starter). And not only did Burks get the starting nod, but he was also the only player on the team to play every second of the first quarter. No, not RJ Barret. Not Obi Toppin. It was Alec Burks. Meanwhile, Deuce McBride sat on the bench all 12 minutes. 

The Knicks demolished the injury-riddled Magic in Orlando, 118-88. Still, Burks played the entire third quarter as well. Oh, and 36-year-old Taj Gibson logged 13 minutes off the bench. Yes, in a 30-point blowout in April (on a team with no hope of reaching the playoffs), Gibson saw more court time than court-time than 22-year-old rookie Miles McBride. 

Gibson finished the game with more FG attempts (7) than Quentin Grimes (5) and more shots than Deuce and Jericho Sims (the team’s other rookie) combined. 

Some folks have pointed out that Gibson was forced into action because the team is dealing with injuries and has only 11 healthy players available. That leads one to ask why the Knicks don’t have anyone in the G League they’ve been developing worthy of playing time the last week of the season.

New York is at the start of an arduous rebuild yet has wasted one of its two valuable two-way contracts this year. Neither Luka Saminic nor Feron Hunt has (players occupying those two-way slots) have logged a single second this season. That’s organizational malpractice. Smart teams use those two-ways to dig for diamonds in the rough. 

Alright, let’s move on to a brighter note: the play of Quickley and Obi Toppin.