Quickley, Maxey named two of top five rookies to watch ahead of 2021 NBA Playoffs

There are 15 reasons to watch the 2021 NBA Playoffs, which officially tips off on Saturday at 2 p.m. EST between the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks, but we’re going to quickly highlight two of those 15 reasons.

Why 15? Because that’s the number of former Kentucky Wildcats who will suit up for the postseason. Well, it will hopefully be 15 if Mychal Mulder and the Golden State Warriors can escape the play-in game later Friday night against the Memphis Grizzlies. But of those 15, two of them will look to make their playoff debuts as rookies: Immanuel Quickley of the New York Knicks and Tyrese Maxey of the Philadelphia 76ers. 

According to Jasmyn Wimbish of CBS Sports, she’s putting a good amount of stock into both Quickley and Maxey having an impact on their respective teams playoff run. In fact, she ranked the top five rookies to keep an eye on for the playoffs and put Quickley at the very top with Maxey sliding in at No. 4.

NBA Rookie Rankings: From Knicks' Quickley to Celtics' Pritchard, five rookies to watch in the playoffs

by @JasmynWimbish:https://t.co/ROdb6IvdJv

— CBS Sports NBA (@CBSSportsNBA) May 21, 2021

Quickley averaged 11.4 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 2.0 assists on 38.9 percent shooting from distance as an off-the-bench sparkplug for the four-seeded New York Knicks this season, who will face the Atlanta Hawks in the opening round. He figures to play a significant role for the Knicks–as he’s done all season long–alongside fellow Wildcat and All-Star teammate Julius Randle.

Maxey put up averages of 8.0 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per contest on 46.2 percent shooting from the floor and 30.1 percent from deep in his rookie campaign. He finished the final game of the regular season with 30 points in nearly 35 minutes of action. He’ll come off the bench for Philly in the playoffs–the top seed in the Eastern Conference–but it’s hard to say how much clock he’ll actually earn throughout the first-round matchup against the Washington Wizards and their backcourt duo of Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal.

It’s possible that Quickley and Maxey meet each other in the second round of the playoffs if both of their teams were to advance.

Here’s a sample of what Wimbish had to say about both former ‘Cats.

Immanuel Quickley, No. 1: “Although Quickley isn’t a finalist for Rookie of the Year, that’s more a reflection on the competitiveness of the field rather than his performance this season. Quickley’s season averages might look pedestrian, but the former Kentucky product averaged 29 points per 100 possessions this season, the highest of any rookie in the league. Although he never broke into the starting lineup for New York, he quickly became an integral piece off the bench with impressive execution in the pick-and-roll, and a matured style of play that made you shocked to think he was a first-year player at all.

Tyrese Maxey, No. 4: “Although teammate Joel Embiid has publicly lobbied for more playing time for the rookie, it remains to be seen if that will come to fruition for Maxey as the Sixers prepare for their first-round playoff series. If he does, though, there’s no doubt he’ll certainly make the most of the opportunity, whether its in a crucial stretch or in garbage time against the eighth-seeded Washington Wizards. Philly is pretty deep in the backcourt with Ben Simmons, George Hill, Seth Curry, Shake Milton, Furkan Korkmaz and Matisse Thybulle, so it may be difficult for the rookie to carve out some meaningful playing time.

Considering how both Quickley and Maxey finished off their regular-season schedule, it’s no wonder Wimbish is so high on the pair. Maxey, in particular, played exceptionally well down the stretch filling in for injured 76er players while Quickley has been a top five Rookie of the Year candidate from Opening Night.

Make sure to check out everything Wimbish had to say about Quickley and Maxey.

[CBS Sports]