Knicks guard Quentin Grimes' defense doesn't rest against bigger challenges
Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) drives against New York Knicks guard Quentin Grimes (6) during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022. Credit: AP/LM Otero
By now, with the midpoint of the Knicks' season arriving Monday night against the Milwaukee Bucks at Madison Square Garden, it has become common to see Quentin Grimes handed a tough assignment: Defend the opposition’s best perimeter scorer.
That has meant chasing around speedy point guards such as Ja Morant and Trae Young and defending the likes of Luka Doncic, DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine. But it still seemed unusual Friday when coach Tom Thibodeau gave the 6-5 Grimes t the task of guarding Pascal Siakam, the 6-9 forward — basically a center in the Raptors' scheme — with the 7-3 wingspan.
Siakam scored 52 points when the teams met in December, but Grimes missed that game with a sprained ankle, the only game in which he's been sidelined since becoming a full-time starter for the Knicks this season.
“That was kind of the first time, like all game I had to guard like Scottie [Barnes] and Siakam down low in the post for most of the game,” Grimes said. “It’s a different challenge, kind of a different obstacle for me to try to not let him get middle, force him baseline, because I know I got help from Mitch [Robinson] on the back side. I had to trust my teammates, trust the help that we have and what they’re seeing.
“I mean, it’s tough. Those guys are bigger, they try to do jump hooks and post-ups, things like that, not fading like from little guards who like to get to the paint, kind of pull-ups and I can block it and stuff like that. It’s tough. But I like taking on challenges, something different, and I’ll learn from it. We’ll see them again, so I can be better in different areas. Watch the film and be better for next time.”
The Knicks would differ, content that he did a good enough job this time. Grimes helped to hold Siakam to 18 points and 4-for-14 shooting.
“That’s what he does,” Jalen Brunson said of Grimes, who scored 16 points in the Knicks' 112-108 victory. “I’m not surprised at all. That’s what he does and he’s going to continue to get better and better. We have so much confidence in him. On both sides of the ball, he’s an impact player. He’s been special.”
“In this situation, you have to guard a lot of guys with size, and sometimes he was on their guards, small guards who are quick and dynamic with the ball,” Thibodeau said. “And then other times, he was on Siakam or [OG] Anunoby or Barnes, and those guys pose different problems. I thought he held his ground. I thought he battled. I thought he hit some timely shots for us. He’s playing real aggressive and hard, and that gives us a different tone to our team.”
Asked what gave him the confidence to put Grimes on Siakam, Thibodeau said, “His feet and his strength. And then a guy like Siakam, I thought, you’re not guarding those guys, those type of players, individually. We have to guard them with our team, so a guy on them has the challenge of competing for everything — the catch, the dribble, the shot — and then the team has to also help.”
Notes & quotes: Obi Toppin went through a full practice Sunday. He was active for the last two games but did not play as his activity was ramped up.
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.
