Knicks' Tom Thibodeau says reduced minutes for Immanuel Quickley not related to injury
New York Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Boston. Credit: AP/Charles Krupa
PHOENIX — Immanuel Quickley sat at his locker after the Knicks' loss in Utah on Wednesday, ice packs on both knees, and insisted he was fine after sitting out the prior game with right knee inflammation.
But Quickley had no explanation for why he had logged just 18 minutes in a game where the Knicks were in desperate need of someone with a hot hand offensively — and he was one of the few to fit the description.
Quickley had been a game-time decision, warming up before the game before being cleared to play. He came off the bench and hit his first five shots, but played just two stretches other than entering the game in the final seconds. Quickley shot 6-for-8 from the floor, including 3-for-4 from beyond the arc, for 15 points.
While Quickley performed last season, finishing second in the NBA Sixth Man of the Year balloting, he has found himself with reduced minutes and opportunities this season. Last season, Quickley played 40 or more minutes in eight games — including a 55-minute night in an overtime win in Boston. This season, he has already played fewer than 20 minutes four times and is averaging 24 minutes, down from 28.9 last season.
After the Knicks traded Obi Toppin in the offseason, they signed another guard, Donte DiVincenzo, to insert in the rotation. With the glut of guards and wings on the roster, numerous players have seen their minutes reduced — shots, too — with some public unhappiness. Quickley hasn't joined in on that.
“Really, just whatever minutes you get, go out there and be effective,” Quickley said after Wednesday's loss. "Whatever minutes I get — whether it’s 15, 20, 25. I played 55 in a game last year. Whatever minutes I get, go out there and help the team try to win.”
The Knicks could have used more of his offense last night — and his defense, too — as they struggled to contain a Utah Jazz squad who had lost three straight and five of their last six.
Asked if Quickley was on a minutes restriction with the knee problem, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said he was not and it was more of coach’s decision, searching for some combination that would work.
“Yeah, where we were in the game we were just looking for [a spark]. We got a little momentum with the group that we finished with,” Thibodeau said. “We were searching. We got to the line a lot, but we missed a lot. We’ve got to do better.”
Quickley said that he came through the game fine, with no knee issues.
“Feels good,” he said. “Just swelled up in the morning when I woke up. I really don’t know [why]. That was pretty much it. I worked out the night before, woke up and my knee was hurting. And it was hard for me to walk.”
Quickley said he was a full go Wednesday, agreeing with Thibodeau on that. And if he had reasons to hope for more opportunities, he was speaking in perfect alignment with Thibodeau on this night.
“Some games you make shots, some games you don’t,” Quickley said. “But things that travel is your defense, rebounding. We have to be better at that. Effort, the competitiveness, that stuff travels, so that’s the stuff we have to be better at.”
Notes & quotes: Taj Gibson, who agreed in principle to rejoin the Knicks on Wednesday, could join the team in time for Friday night’s game in Phoenix against the Suns.
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.
