Knicks' Immanuel Quickley out Monday night, status day-to-day
Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley goes up for a shot against Heat forward Haywood Highsmith during the first half of Game 3 of an NBA second-round playoff series Saturday in Miami. Credit: AP/Wilfredo Lee
MIAMI — Immanuel Quickley hobbled into the Kaseya Center with his left foot encased in a protective boot on Monday, changing his status from doubtful to out and forcing the Knicks to shuffle their rotation with their season in the balance.
Tom Thibodeau said Quickley is day-to-day. He would not disclose what he would do to make up for Quickley’s minutes off the bench, but the logical choice would be Deuce McBride. Thibodeau shifted the starting lineup, putting Quentin Grimes back in as a starter and returning Josh Hart to the bench.
“You know, you go in with a guideline,” he said. “But we’ll see how it unfolds based on a lot of what’s going on in the game, who they have in there, what their rotation is looking like, also.”
Quickley is the latest player in this series to battle through ankle problems. Miami’s Jimmy Butler was a game-time decision, not being declared available until less than an hour before tipoff. Julius Randle has been battling a sprained left ankle and Jalen Brunson has been playing with a sore right ankle.
In the morning, Brunson conducted this interview with the media.
Q: How do you feel?
“Fantastic.”
Q: Specifically the ankle?
“I’m ready to go for Game 4.”
Q: Did you aggravate the injury in Game 3?
”Things happen throughout the game. But I feel good and I feel ready to go. So I’m all set over here.”
Q: Is it hindering you?
“If it was, I wouldn’t play.”
Second unit remodeled
With Quickley out and Grimes back in the starting lineup, the Knicks also shook up the second unit. The Knicks had started Hart since Grimes was injured in the opening round against Cleveland, and his return could provide an energy boost after the bench unit struggled badly in Game 3.
“At the end of the day, everybody has to step up,” Isaiah Hartenstein said. “If you look to whoever’s on the court, Deuce steps in or someone else steps in . . . I think what helps us throughout the season is guys have been injured and guys stepped up. I trust no matter who’s on the court.”
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.
