The Summer League Knicks were undersized and betrayed by their jumpers again, losing to the Detroit Pistons 87 to 93.
New York was without big man Jericho Sims, and his replacements struggled. That left the Knicks to rely on more jumpers and forced guards to defend much bigger players. The evidence is in the rebounding numbers…also in all of those Luka Garza match-ups with Quickley in the post. Detroit’s size appeared to cause trouble for shooters, creating a perfect storm for a tough loss.
With the team struggling, Obi Toppin stepped up and played like the team leader he’s supposed to be. The Knicks deployed a small-ball lineup that pushed Obi to the 5, and he thrived in the role. Quentin Grimes finally showed out a bit, showing fight on both ends despite a match-up against the first overall pick in the draft. But Immanuel Quickley and Miles McBride both came back down to Earth on the downside. Let’s dive in, focusing on the draftees to see where everyone landed in a tough match-up.
Sophomores lead the Knicks’ starting unit and everyone else
Immanuel Quickley: The “is he or isn’t he” debate about Immanuel Quickley’s point guard abilities continued as IQ had a tough night to follow up his best game of the summer. Quickley’s scoring was out of sorts, evidenced by a miserable field goal percentage and multiple misses on the free-throw line. The sophomore continually went for his floater when he got a step on defenders, but they repeatedly missed. At times he struggled to get separation, and other times, he settled for pull-ups or floaters despite having a path to the basket. That’s unfortunate too, because he threw some beautiful passes. His chemistry with Obi led to some of the nicest assists of the game.
Quickley finished with 15 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and 3 turnovers over 34 minutes of action. He shot a miserable 4/18 from the field, 2/7 from three, and 5/8 from the free-throw line. It was an uncharacteristically inefficient night, even with IQ getting to the line fairly often. Some of his shots were forced but felt like attempts to pick up teammates who were also struggling. There is some promise in the passing, though. Despite kick-out assists being a rarity, Quickley still managed a 9 to 3 ratio and if you watch Obi’s highlights…check out how often IQ is the player with the ball in his hands to start those clips.
It’s not time to panic, but IQ’s shooting has been a bit of a struggle in Summer League. I suspect that efficiency will take a leap as soon as Quickley can return to the off-ball role he was so comfortable in last season. That said, this has been a valuable experience to expand the youngster’s bag. He may not always make the right read, but there’s more to his passing instincts than he showed last season. He has to focus on getting his feet into the paint and not rushing to the floater or step-back. Even against Detroit, he got going in the fourth quarter on a normal lay-up…he needs to take those lanes when he has them.
Quentin Grimes: Cade Cunningham had a big night, but don’t let it fool you into thinking Quentin Grimes did a bad job. Nothing impressed me more than Grimes’ ability to put pressure on Cunningham defensively. He had some great sequences of man-to-man defense, challenging the first overall pick to hit tough jumpers. The 25th pick also found his jumper, finally adding points from inside the arc while shooting efficiently from three.
Grimes played 30 minutes and dropped 15 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks. He shot 6/10 from the field, 3/6 from three, and 0/1 from the free-throw line. That jumper’s form, height, and quickness are hard not to mention after every game. Seeing it hit consistently and then watching Grimes build off the success by using head fakes off-the-dribble was exciting. Add the defensive aggression and his above-average rebounding for a recipe to always help teams out.
I think we’ve seen enough to understand that the Knicks landed a near-guaranteed 3 and D prototype with their 25th pick. The debates about Grimes as a selection lie in whether he has the upside to be more than that. The rookie is settling into his place more and more. He’s becoming more aggressive with the ball-in-hand, and he found his jumper. But those were linear developments, almost expected as he settled in. It’s those head fakes to freeze defenders that I’m most excited for next. Grimes has solid instincts about making a smart pass or pulling up for his own look. If he can start freezing defenders even for a split second, he’ll punish them for the hesitation.
Wayne Selden: Wayne Selden had by far his best performance of the summer league, though that’s not saying much. It was nice a bounce back, but not enough to break into the NBA roster conversation. Selden played 22 minutes and managed 11 points, 5 boards, 1 assist to 1 turnover, and a steal. He shot 4/9 from the field and 3/3 from the free-throw line while missing his only three-point attempt. I could have done with seeing Jokubaitis get a few more of his minutes.
Obi Toppin: This was Obi Toppin’s night to shine. The sophomore has been overwhelming at times throughout this summer league, but he was on another level in this match-up. Obi knocked down three balls, finished enthusiastically inside, and flashed a pick-and-pop midrange game that we saw no traces of last season. As he shifted to a small-ball center role, we got to see how Obi can just outrun bigger guys for easy alley-oops and inside position. The sophomore’s rim-running deserved more looks last season, and this game shows why.
Toppin played 37 minutes and connected for 31 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. He shot a red hot 13/20 from the field, 2/5 from three, 3/4 from the free-throw line. His defensive effort deserves some respect here. The Knicks were running with 4 guards for long stretches of action, and Obi managed to keep them afloat on the boards and interior defense. Kick-outs were the biggest issue for New York, not rim protection. Obi’s fluidity as a shooter is remarkable after last season. The three balls look comfortable, and he knocked down a pair of pull-up jumpers at midrange, which really popped off the screen.
All I want from Obi in the next run is to keep this up. Without a second big man to clog the lane, we got to see Toppin’s rim-running prowess with an open lane. His low free throw count despite forays inside is because he left big defenders in the dust for wide-open dunks. The big man is too agile and quick for bigs to keep up with. Detroit didn’t switch enough to keep him out. I’m ready to see how much of this translates to preseason and regular-season games against a step-up in competition.
Reid Travis: Reid Travis looks overmatched so far in summer league. In 12 minutes, he went 0/8 from the field and only registered 5 rebounds. He did nothing else on the stat line. I respect his effort, but he missed lay-ups and jumpers alike. Travis found himself benched with the Knicks shifting to small-ball despite playing a much bigger opponent.
Bench struggles, but Rokas makes an impression
Miles McBride: The hero of the last game couldn’t find his jumper and wound up with his weakest performance of the Summer League. Miles McBride was still fun to watch, thanks to his tough defense and heady play. But the second-round rookie had a miserable shooting night, bricking three-pointers and mid-range shots whether they were open or contested. On the bright side, he did some playmaking to pick up the slack, but it was an unfortunate performance after drawing so much attention from his success in the prior games.
Deuce spent 26 minutes adding 4 points, 4 assists, 1 rebound, and 2 steals to go along with that nifty charge he took above. The rookie shot 2/14 from the field and 0/7 from three. He seemed to press when his open looks didn’t fall, forcing some mid-range shots that were well-defended. McBride looked like a rookie for the first time, turning in an inefficient night. But there’s promise in the fact that his defense never slipped. He remained aggressive. Consistency is a challenge for all young players, even our sophomores…McBride has shown enough of a package not to be discouraged by a single off-night.
Next up, we seek balance from the kid. He had a blackout night against LA and followed it with a hangover against Detroit. That’ll happen for a brand new rookie getting new looks against every defense he sees. McBride is a competitive player, so the risk of getting out of control is magnified. You don’t want to curb his aggression, but Thibodeau and Daisuke will need to be in his ear about using his energy in ways that help the team rather than hurt it. The kid’s already a positive piece more often than not; this is just a bit to be mindful of.
Rokas Jokubaitis: No player has grown more in the short span of these Summer League games than Rokas Jokubaitis. He looked absolutely shellshocked in his debut, but last night the kid was an absolute spark off the bench. I mentioned that Rokas was playing to the same speed as his summer league competitors before. Fast forward to the present, and Jokubaitis is beating everyone down the court for a lay-up shortly after checking in. The kid’s game has improved, and his confidence has grown with each appearance, leading to a stat-stuffing run against Detroit.
Jokubaitis only got 12 minutes but piled up 8 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block, and 1 turnover. He shot 3/5 from the field,1/2 from three, and 1/2 from the free-throw line. He was surprisingly effective on defense and an absolute spark in transition situations. If Rokas had the ball while the defense was off-balance in any way, he would attack that space with reckless abandon.
I expected Luca Vildoza to give me Pablo Prigioni vibes, but Jokubaitis was the player to capture that spirit in summer league. McBride and Rokas were a fun tandem to watch because they both have a nose for the ball. They’re disruptive in every sense of the word, and they attack in an instant on the other end. If I’m not mistaken, this is the last performance before the rookie heads back to Europe. He’s already made a nice impression if that’s the case.
MJ Walker: M.J. Walker got his first real look but struggled. He went 1/4 from the field, 1/2 from three for 3 points, 2 assists, and 3 rebounds in 17 minutes. He made efforts to show for the ball, but his aggression led to some shoddy decision-making. It was a forgettable performance.
Aamir Sims: Aamir Sims hasn’t gotten enough minutes to justify his two-way contract and hasn’t done enough with his limited time to command a bigger opportunity. He played 10 minutes and missed all three of his field-goal attempts. He finished with no points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block. The effort is nice, but production has to be better even in short time.
Yoshimoto coaching without a big man
Daisuke Yoshimoto: My biggest question is why Yoshimoto and company decided to rest Jericho Sims against such a big opposing squad. I’d guess they may have really wanted a look at Obi from the center position. Anyway, with limited options and players struggling to shoot, I can’t fault Yoshimoto’s coaching much. The Knicks fell behind by large margins at times, but never gave up and continually fought to keep the game within reach.
The move to play small instead of relying on Travis or Sims is easy to commend. It put Obi Toppin on the floor with space to be an absolute nightmare for Detroit. I also liked that when Toppin was hot from three, the team came out of a timeout and ran a play to get the Obi a midrange look. The mixing up of looks really sent Detroit’s defenders and turned our former top-10 selection into a threat on all three levels. I didn’t like the overplaying of Selden and Walker. Neither player produced enough for the minutes they got. Especially after Rokas Jokubaitis showed some promise as a spark. Yoshimoto wasn’t bad, but he could have been better navigating the team through this battle.
Closing Thoughts
So Cade Cunningham did that, huh? That’s unexpected. But in my mind, Obi Toppin was clearly the best player on the floor for either team regardless of Cade’s ridiculous three-point shooting. It’s far too early for big proclamations, but I could picture Obi taking a big leap from rookie to sophomore. But things instantly get complicated when we look at the roster. Julius Randle is the power forward, Mitchell Robinson will be back in a crucial year, and Nerlens Noel just re-signed after anchoring a 4-seed for most of last season. We might not see Obi as the small-ball center after Summer League.
Logjams could become pervasive fast. Deuce McBride and Quentin Grimes might not see any time early. That’s while Immanuel Quickley competes with Kemba Walker, Derrick Rose, RJ Barrett, and Alec Burks for rotation minutes in the Knicks’ backcourt or on the wings. Tom Thibodeau has the blessing and the curse of depth. It’s the most pleasant problem you can ask for, but a problem nonetheless.
But I’m not saying all this to be a downer. I know a healthy dose of cynicism has appeared from fans over the unexciting and safe nature of this offseason. But I think loading up on sure-things has created exactly the type of “problem” that Leon Rose and the front office crew were hoping for. As players emerge and break through the log jams, talented pieces will become expendable. By the time contracts that are signed this offseason become available for trade, we’ll know the pecking order and if any disgruntled stars have begun to speak up…The problem of the logjams becomes an opportunity to combine proven players with the collection of picks that Rose has accumulated through his vanilla, safe-as-can-be strategy.
We’ll get another look at which young players are ready to break the logjams against Cleveland. I’ll see you after, Knicks fam!
Stay tuned to KnicksFanTV.com for the latest Knicks news, rumors, and recaps throughout the Summer League and heading into the preseason. In case you missed it, catch CP’s latest live stream after the Knicks vs. Pistons game below!
