5 Reasons Why Immanuel Quickley Needs to Start at PG on Opening Night

Immanuel “IQ” Quickley has officially arrived. The neophyte was a delight on Friday night (to steal a Clyde-ism) in his first career start at point guard, putting forth an eye-opening performance and leading the Knickerbockers to a blowout win over the Cavaliers. Sure, this was only a spot start for him with Dennis Smith Jr. and Elfrid Payton both sidelined – but IQ’s stellar play as the maestro could force the Knicks coaching staff to reconsider that stance. The question has to be asked: after atrocious preseason showings from every other Knicks guard, should Immanuel Quickley be named the starting PG on opening night?

1. Zoned Out: Quickley is a Certified Zone-Killer

Immanuel Quickley’s shooting is already drawing respect from opposing defenses. This can be seen in the fact that both the Pistons and Cavaliers had to abandon their cozy 2-3 zone formations to prevent IQ from launching up threes with ease. By disrupting schemes and keeping defenders off balance, Quickley has created more playmaking opportunities for others. The same can’t be said for the rest of the Knicks’ PG rotation. Elfrid failed to hit a single trey in the preseason, and DSJ routinely fell victim to the 2-3 zone while shooting sub-40% from the field. When IQ was on the floor, neither opposing team could ignore his collegiate success as a shooter – as he shot an elite 42.8% with 2.1 makes from beyond the arc in his final year at Kentucky en route to SEC Player of the Year honors.

While it took a couple of games to really translate, Quickley discovered his NBA shooting touch in the preseason finale – nailing 3-of-5 attempts (60%) from deep and commanding a ton of attention from defenders. He also flashed his diverse repertoire in other areas of the floor, driving into the paint and drawing fouls at a high rate (and actually hitting them). This is the type of pressure that a competent point guard needs to be able to put on opposing lineups to keep them off balance. No other guard on the current roster has proven capable of making defenses pay from past the perimeter yet, which has made it far too easy to shut the Knicks down with basic zone configurations. It might be time to put the Elf on the shelf once and for all.

2. Give Him the Keys: IQ Can Unlock Knicks Youngsters

By being a legitimate deep-range threat, Quickley opens up the floor for the rest of his teammates to thrive. We saw this in the epic 19-2 run that the “Quickley Quintet” orchestrated against Cleveland on Wednesday. Someone has to stay in front of IQ at all times when he’s facing the basket, and his quick first step (especially coming off screens) helps open up chances for Obi Toppin, Mitchell Robinson, RJ Barrett, Kevin Knox and others to feast in their spots more naturally. When Elf or DSJ run point, the young Knicks have to work much harder to score – scratching and clawing for anything they can get offensively.

Quickley clearly has strong chemistry with Kevin Knox already; just look at the way he activated Kev at some point in the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s tilt. Knox carried that over to Friday’s scintillating shooting night, and Quickley finished the doubleheader against Cleveland with seven total dimes to Kev. But Quickley’s chemistry extends far beyond just Knox. Quickley always seems to find the open man and doesn’t discriminate, throwing timely lobs to cutters or kicking out to open shooters by playing within the system. He even helped the veteran Reggie Bullock snap out of his offensive funk. IQ should also be viewed as the key to unlocking Obi Toppin, who really struggled in the preseason finale but barely shared the floor with Quickley. Obi looked completely contained at all times; a stark contrast from his exceptional play down the stretch of the previous affair as one of Quickley’s sidekicks.

3. Thibs Disciple: IQ Exudes Leadership, Energy and Effort

Quickley is a high-character individual. It’s almost inexplicable how unfazed he is on the basketball court, despite only being mere minutes into his NBA career. The kid seems fearless already. IQ has flashed every facet of his offensive game without reluctance: crafty floaters, layups through contact, threes – both off the catch as well as coming off of screens – and he even threw down a dunk for good measure. His confidence, motor and energy on both ends of the floor have become contagious. Whenever he’s on the court, it seems like all of the Knicks have the knack (last Clyde line, I swear).

Beyond that, he’s already shown signs of leadership. During the preseason finale, IQ was extremely vocal with his teammates. At various points, he could be seen getting into the ear of guys like Mitchell Robinson, Obi Toppin and even Julius Randle after little offensive mistakes they made. On one play early in the second half, after Julius lost control and turned the ball over, Quickley immediately confabbed with the six-year vet. IQ also had a good rapport with the referees, communicating respectfully with them and extracting little tidbits on how to draw their whistles more effectively. It’s clear Quickley is a meticulous system player.

4. The Kid’s a Natural: Quickley Was Bred as a Point Guard

At 6’3″ and 180 pounds, Quickley’s draft night reputation was one of an off-ball combo guard who is a bit of a ‘tweener – not quite big enough to be a 2, not quite explosive enough to play the 1. But Quickley has looked capable and competent while manning the PG position thus far. With each crisp read and pass he makes, it’s becoming clear that IQ’s overall guard skillset was lost in the fact that he played a very specific role in Kentucky. Quickley likes to remind people that he’s been about this point guard life though:

In his junior year of high school, while running exclusively out of the point guard position, IQ averaged 23.7 points and 7.2 assists per game. For his senior year, he posted 20.8 points and 6.7 assists to go along with 3.7 steals – securing team MVP honors and earning an invitation to the prestigious McDonald’s All-American Game. Playing off the bench in the loaded 2018 exhibition (behind guys like Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett), Quickley racked up eight dimes and only put up two shots attempts in 17 minutes of burn. That seems like a lot of facilitating for someone who’s mainly been perceived as a catch-and-shoot option at the NBA level. Worth noting: RJ popped off for a team-high 26 points in the all-star showdown.

It’s clear that Kenny Payne and the Kentucky faction of the Knicks front office knew what he had in Quickley. Now, what was seen as a reach for a shooting guard prospect by most experts is already paying dividends for a shorthanded Knicks team at the point guard position. With polished skills as a facilitator and a lethal stroke from deep, IQ looks destined for something bigger than his initial valuation and should’ve been off the draft board a lot earlier. He’s shaping up to be the best guard on the roster, and at this point, it’s not even close.

5. Eat What You Kill: IQ Has “Earned” the Job

Thibodeau’s mantra throughout training camp as well as the preseason has been “Nothing will be given to anyone. You’re going to have to earn your minutes.” Initially, Knicks fans feared this spelled doom for the team’s youngsters, given Thibs’ proclivity for leaning on experienced veteran players. However, many of the kids have risen to the challenge and shown that they’ll deserve significant roles this season. Immanuel Quickley is the perfect example of this; he’s thrived in his minutes at the helm and has contributed to winning basketball on the team level.

With the rest of the Knicks point guard rotation in flux, let’s face it: none of them have earned a thing. DSJ and Elfrid have been taking their lumps all preseason and stagnating the overall team’s efficacy in the process. Frank is already struggling with injuries and seems to be settling in as a reserve 2 guard anyway (assuming his minutes are even safe when Austin Rivers and others return). Meanwhile, Quickley has been a sensation since stepping in as the primary facilitator. After Friday’s drubbing of the Cavaliers, Thibs praised IQ’s work ethic at practice and how he feels that usually translates to on-court success in actual games. Quickley is putting in the work and it’s already paying off.

Fresh on the heels of an efficient 22-point, 5-assist and 5-steal performance and a blowout win in his first career start at PG, Quickley absolutely deserves the first crack at quarterbacking on opening night. We’ll just have to wait and see if Thibs views what IQ’s done through the same lens.

CP from KnicksFanTV went live after the Knicks preseason blowout win against the Cavs. Check it out below.