Knicks' Immanuel Quickley keeps his focus on next play
Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley (5) smiles in the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Friday, Nov. 17, 2023, in Washington. Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin
CHARLOTTE, N.C.
Immanuel Quickley seemed able to score at will Friday night, recording a season-high 27 points off the bench when the Knicks needed it with two starters out. But he seemed to most enjoy a driving layup early in the fourth quarter. He converted the shot, drew a foul, got to his feet and scurried over to dap up his mom, Nitrease, who was seated in the front row.
While many players search out celebrities for their in-game interactions, Quickley is always a little bit different — and it wasn’t just that his mother, an assistant principal at Joppatowne High School in northern Maryland, was his choice of celebrities.
Quickley is animated on the court, seemingly always in motion, celebrating his baskets with dances and even raising a smile out of coach Tom Thibodeau.
But in the locker room before the game, Quickley is silent, headphones in place, ignoring the jokes and conversations around him, poring through a Bible or another book. He seems placid, and after the frenetic pace of a game, he seems the same afterward, oblivious to the things that happened on the floor. Whether it is a torrid shooting night or a struggle, he puts it aside and moves on to the next game.
“That’s kind of how you have to be, honestly,” Quickley said. “Even good games, I didn’t play great. I didn’t feel like I played great, I tried to help my team win. But even good games, you’ve got to move on to the next game. Even for me, I’m trying to learn how to move on from the next play. A turnover or a missed shot shouldn’t affect the play next. If you’re open to shoot the next one, if you miss that, come back and shoot the next one. Because that has nothing to do with the play before. Just trying to have that mindset when I’m on the floor helps me out.”
That attitude has allowed Quickley to ignore the elephant in the room — his expiring contract and impending free agency. The Knicks did not sign him to a contract extension before the season and he will be a restricted free agent next summer. And he insists it isn’t a concern, putting it, as he does everything, “in God’s hands.”
Quickley is in a strange place — a starting guard talent lodged behind Jalen Brunson on the bench. As a free agent or in a trade, he might have more value with another team than he holds for the Knicks, but he clearly does have value to them, too. The runner-up in the Sixth Man of the Year voting last season might be the front-runner this season.
While his minutes are slightly down this season (25.5 per game compared to 28.9 last year) with the addition of Donte DiVincenzo to the roster, his numbers are up. His scoring average is a career-high 16 points per game and his effective field goal percentage and true shooting percentage are the best of his career.
Still, he needs a push sometimes. After a 1-for-10 shooting performance in Boston on Monday, he was not on the attack in Atlanta on Wednesday. During a timeout, Julius Randle pushed him — not so kindly — to change his demeanor.
“I just know Quick. I know his personality,” Randle said. “I can look at him, see how he’s feeling. He was too passive during that time. I think he had Trae Young on him. When he has that matchup, he needs to be aggressive. That’s exactly what he did. He came out, he was aggressive and I think that’s really what turned the game for us.”
“That’s what you’ve got teammates for,” Quickley said. “He kind of got on me like a big brother type, be aggressive, be who you are. He kind of helped me out. I just went out and made some plays. He’s one of the best players in the league, so when he tells you to do something, you’ve just got to go out and do it.”
Quickley insisted he didn’t remember the 1-for-10 night, and on Friday, he said he didn’t realize he’d put up a season-high total. “Wasn’t even focused on it,” he said. “Move on to the next game, try to get better, and keep doing that for 82 games.”
Little big man
A year ago, Brunson opened his new Knicks teammates’ eyes when he took a pass from Randle and, ahead of the pack, got his fingers just above the rim and dropped in what arguably could be called a dunk.
And on Friday, Brunson again prompted a few jokes. He dived for a loose ball and got tied up for a jump ball with Washington’s Corey Kispert. Brunson won the jump ball, but his celebration was tempered. “It was a fluke,” Randle said.
“I’ve won a jump ball before,” Brunson said, although he was not exactly sure when. “I was pretty excited, and then [Washington’s Kyle Kuzma] looked at me and said, ‘It’s Corey. Don’t worry about it.’ So that put me back in my place.”
Home away from home
The Knicks have had to endure a tough schedule to start the season, a challenging stretch that has included four sets of back-to-back games, matchups with the championship favorite Boston Celtics twice and the Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers twice. And in their first 14 games, the Knicks will be on the road for nine of them, which seems unfair on paper.
The Knicks were 24-17 on the road last season, one of the few teams with a better record on the road than at home. And this season it has continued, with the Knicks finding crowds that sometimes seem filled with more chants of “Let’s go Knicks” than applause for the home team.
“Probably one of the coolest feelings no matter what level you're at when you’re in someone’s home arena and hear your fans cheering really loud,” Brunson said. “It’s really cool.”
In Washington on Friday, it was even more than usual. The chants were not countered by any shouting down from Wizards fans.
“We always get this type of love in Washington,” Randle said. “I don’t know what it is about this arena. Even when I was with the Lakers, they chanted go Lakers. So we always get this type of love. It’s amazing. Have a real game that feels like home.”
Quickley could take some credit, with about 50 of his family and friends making the trek from northern Maryland, where he grew up, to Washington for the game. But it happens in Charlotte, in Atlanta and most every place where Knicks fans have been transplanted. Blue and orange jerseys are all over the arenas.
“It’s great, because we’ve got fans who travel,” Quickley said. “Kind of reminds me of Kentucky a little bit, when we used to play at different spots and they’d be chanting ‘Go Big Blue.’ Sort of the same thing with the ‘Go Knicks.’ Any arena, it’ll almost feel like a home game, so it’s pretty cool.
“I mean, in my years here, I’ve felt like that’s happened a lot, honestly. They travel well. They’re really passionate. It’s always cool to have home games even on the road.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
