Quickley's Late Season Ascension

Four players are averaging more than 14 points, five boards and three dimes while shooting at least 40% from downtown since the All-Star Break: Jayson Tatum, DeMar DeRozan, Pascal Siakam and ... IQ

The Knicks knocked off the Wizards Friday night at MSG, 100-97. After building up a 15-point lead late in regulation, it seemed for a moment that New York would find a way to blow another massive advantage, but RJ Barrett knocked down two clutch free throws, and the home team hung on. 

Barrett and Julius Randle led the Knicks in scoring with 18 points apiece, but both shot poorly from the floor (a combined 12-for-44). Evan Fournier nailed five three-pointers, inching closer to the Knicks' single-season record for most made treys. Mitchell Robinson once again dominated the paint, scoring 15 points and grabbing 12 rebounds (more on him in a future post). Yet, the game ball from last night's win should probably be awarded to Immanuel Quickley for his all-around contributions. 

IQ finished with 15 points, five assists (vs. just one turnover), four rebounds and one steal in 28 minutes vs. the Wizards on Friday. He registered a team-high plus/minus of +7.

Quickley labored for long stretches this season, battling bouts of inconsistency on the offensive end caused by wayward shooting. However, IQ has been a different player since coming out of the All-Star Break. And the most significant difference has been his dogged commitment to attacking the tin. 

Over New York's last ten games, IQ is averaging 15.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists (versus only 1.3 turnovers),1.0 steals and 1.7 made three-pointers, while shooting 43.6% from behind the arc and 92.7% from the free-throw line.

That last percentage is notable. On the season, Quickley ranks second in the NBA in free-throw shooting at 91.9%, behind only Stephen Curry. Yet, not only has IQ been knocking down his FTs as expected of late, but he's also getting there far more frequently. During this recent ten-game stretch, Quickly has attempted 55 free-throws (or 5.5 per game).

That's a remarkable number considering that in New York's previous 14 games (over five weeks from January 21st through February 25th), IQ attempted only 13 total free throws (an average of 0.9 attempts per game.) 

Interestingly, his aggressiveness seems to be a bellwether for team success, as the Knicks are 7-2 this season in games in which IQ gets to the stripe at least five times. 

Four players are averaging more than 14 points, five boards and three dimes per game while shooting at least 40% from downtown since the All-Star Break: Jayson Tatum, DeMar DeRozan, Pascal Siakam and Immanuel Quickley.

Recently, Quickly has also been tasked with handling more play-making responsibilities. New York has won five of their last seven games, and during this seven-game stretch, IQ is averaging a team-high 4.7 assists. In particular, his play in the fourth quarter has been essential to the team's victories. Quickley leads the Knicks in 4Q minutes played at 78 over the past two weeks (the only other player with more than 50 minutes logged is RJ Barrett) and has tallied a team-high 17 assists (Miles McBride ranks second with 6). He is also 6-of-10 from downtown (60%) and 15-of-16 from the charity stripe. 

New York should continue to lean heavily on their young guard over the final 12 games of the 2021-22 season. And, yes, they should also pair him with Deuce McBride as often as possible.