Former MVP Derrick Rose has high praise for Immanuel Quickley's game: "We're similar"
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(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)[/caption]
You could hear the collective groan from Knicks fans when it was announced that Derrick Rose was being traded to New York.
They were already being ignored by new head coach Tom Thibodeau, who has elected to bring former Kentucky Wildcat and current Knick rookie Immanuel Quickley off the bench, despite his obvious upside and impressive early-season play. New York has rolled with the defensive-minded point guard Elfrid Payton as the starter, however, Quickley has found himself finishing out games on several occasions. That being said, the fan-led campaign to push for more Quickley minutes only grew louder with every pull-up triple and rainbow floater.
To be fair to Coach Thibodeau, his system has been working and the Knicks are winning for the first time since 2013. But that doesn't mean Quickley doesn't deserve to play more than Payton, who is a complete non-threat on offense--even more so than in the past. During the late stages of January, Quickley was a mainstay in the Knicks rotation, averaging nearly 26 minutes per game before being hit with a short leash. Over his last four outings, IQ is down to roughly 16 minutes per game. The situation only exacerbated when the Knicks traded for Rose a few days ago, a favorite of Coach Thibs since their first stint together in Chicago and again in Minnesota.
Quickley was already stuck behind Payton, who is about to turn 27, in the rotation and now he has to compete against Rose, who struggled early in the year as a member of the Pistons but has shown to be a capable scorer recently. I was quick to point out some potential issues with the Knicks' decision to acquire Rose and was critical about it at the time--even if most of them were pro-Quickley reasons. The new backup backcourt pairing took the floor for the first time as teammates on Tuesday night, with Rose playing 20 minutes and Quickley playing 21 (Payton saw 26 minutes as a starter). While it might be an awkward fit right now for two guards who need the ball in their hands to be effective, it could also be a valuable learning experience for the younger Quickley.
Following his first game in his return as a Knick, Rose was eager to hype up the Wildcat rookie and compared the defensive attention he received as a young player in the league to that of Quickley during his first 22 games in the NBA.
“It shouldn’t be too hard with him,’’ Rose said about IQ, according to Mark Berman of the New York Post. “We’re similar. He’s getting double-teamed in his rookie year. There ain’t too many rookies getting that type of attention. For him to see that kind of early, it’s just going to make his game better. The game is going to slow down more. And he listens. That’s the greatest thing about him, he listens. With that, you always got room for improvement. He’s a dog. He’s a dog. I can’t explain it. You’ve got to be a player to understand it. We’re in a fight, I know he’s fighting.’’
Rose has already taken Quickley under his wing, playing the role of mentor instead of minutes-stealer. He's not a bad person to have a connection with either, considering he was the league's youngest-ever Most Valuable Player when he won the award during the 2010-11 season. Had several serious knee injuries not derailed his prime, Rose might have gone down as one of the greatest point guards to ever play the game. In turn, he can now provide knowledge and perspective that not even the longest-tenured veterans possess.
“He just stressed to me — first of all he gave me his number — said anything I need just hit him,” Quickley said about Rose, according to Berman. “But he sat down with me a little bit, me and Obi [Toppin] actually, just told us he’s here to help us, he’s here to help us grow and things like that. It’s good to get a chance to talk to him a little bit last night.”
The Knicks are in position to make a playoff push this season and they desperately needed a boost in the backcourt scoring department. It's understandable that the Knicks wouldn't want to rely on a rookie to get the job done throughout the course of an entire season or even a seven-game postseason series. While Rose surely wouldn't have been my first choice, as long as he doesn't take a serious chunk out of Quickley's minutes, he can provide some advice for a talented young scorer that the New York franchise believes could be its face down the road.
(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)[/caption]
You could hear the collective groan from Knicks fans when it was announced that Derrick Rose was being traded to New York.
They were already being ignored by new head coach Tom Thibodeau, who has elected to bring former Kentucky Wildcat and current Knick rookie Immanuel Quickley off the bench, despite his obvious upside and impressive early-season play. New York has rolled with the defensive-minded point guard Elfrid Payton as the starter, however, Quickley has found himself finishing out games on several occasions. That being said, the fan-led campaign to push for more Quickley minutes only grew louder with every pull-up triple and rainbow floater.
To be fair to Coach Thibodeau, his system has been working and the Knicks are winning for the first time since 2013. But that doesn't mean Quickley doesn't deserve to play more than Payton, who is a complete non-threat on offense--even more so than in the past. During the late stages of January, Quickley was a mainstay in the Knicks rotation, averaging nearly 26 minutes per game before being hit with a short leash. Over his last four outings, IQ is down to roughly 16 minutes per game. The situation only exacerbated when the Knicks traded for Rose a few days ago, a favorite of Coach Thibs since their first stint together in Chicago and again in Minnesota.
Quickley was already stuck behind Payton, who is about to turn 27, in the rotation and now he has to compete against Rose, who struggled early in the year as a member of the Pistons but has shown to be a capable scorer recently. I was quick to point out some potential issues with the Knicks' decision to acquire Rose and was critical about it at the time--even if most of them were pro-Quickley reasons. The new backup backcourt pairing took the floor for the first time as teammates on Tuesday night, with Rose playing 20 minutes and Quickley playing 21 (Payton saw 26 minutes as a starter). While it might be an awkward fit right now for two guards who need the ball in their hands to be effective, it could also be a valuable learning experience for the younger Quickley.
Following his first game in his return as a Knick, Rose was eager to hype up the Wildcat rookie and compared the defensive attention he received as a young player in the league to that of Quickley during his first 22 games in the NBA.
“It shouldn’t be too hard with him,’’ Rose said about IQ, according to Mark Berman of the New York Post. “We’re similar. He’s getting double-teamed in his rookie year. There ain’t too many rookies getting that type of attention. For him to see that kind of early, it’s just going to make his game better. The game is going to slow down more. And he listens. That’s the greatest thing about him, he listens. With that, you always got room for improvement. He’s a dog. He’s a dog. I can’t explain it. You’ve got to be a player to understand it. We’re in a fight, I know he’s fighting.’’
Rose has already taken Quickley under his wing, playing the role of mentor instead of minutes-stealer. He's not a bad person to have a connection with either, considering he was the league's youngest-ever Most Valuable Player when he won the award during the 2010-11 season. Had several serious knee injuries not derailed his prime, Rose might have gone down as one of the greatest point guards to ever play the game. In turn, he can now provide knowledge and perspective that not even the longest-tenured veterans possess.
“He just stressed to me — first of all he gave me his number — said anything I need just hit him,” Quickley said about Rose, according to Berman. “But he sat down with me a little bit, me and Obi [Toppin] actually, just told us he’s here to help us, he’s here to help us grow and things like that. It’s good to get a chance to talk to him a little bit last night.”
The Knicks are in position to make a playoff push this season and they desperately needed a boost in the backcourt scoring department. It's understandable that the Knicks wouldn't want to rely on a rookie to get the job done throughout the course of an entire season or even a seven-game postseason series. While Rose surely wouldn't have been my first choice, as long as he doesn't take a serious chunk out of Quickley's minutes, he can provide some advice for a talented young scorer that the New York franchise believes could be its face down the road.
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