The New York Knicks scored a huge win over a surging Atlanta Hawks side on Monday night, and it featured a coming-out party for Knicks rookie Immanuel Quickley. The former Kentucky standout had the best performance of his young NBA career against the Hawks, which unsurprisingly drew praise from New York head coach Tom Thibodeau.
Quickley logged just 19 minutes of action off the bench, but managed 16 points (on 4-of-7 shooting), along with two triples, two rebounds, an assist, a steal, and one block. Thibodeau was clearly pleased with his rookie's performance, as the veteran coach sang Quickley's praises after the win:
“His shot-making ability puts a lot of pressure on people and it opens things up,” said Thibodeau, via Ian Begley of SNY. “And then of course his ability to draw fouls.”
Quickley went 6-of-6 from the charity stripe against Atlanta, which as Thibodeau expressed above, has emerged as one of the youngster's strengths early in the season.
An unnamed former NBA head coach seconded Thibodeau's thoughts on Quickley, explaining how he believes the 6-foot-3 point guard is now looking like an absolute steal for the Knicks as the 25th overall pick:
“How do you not love what (Immanuel) Quickley gave them against Atlanta? He draws fouls like a vet, doesn’t play scared. They may have found something there. It’s so early, too early to say anything bold. But he looks like the steal of the late first round so far.”
Quickley has made just three appearances for the Knicks so far this season, and he's put up averages of 10.0 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 15.3 minutes per contest. He's also made all 11 of his attempts from the line.
The Knicks have had a strong start to their 2020-21 campaign, and for the first time in a long time, there appears to be something to get excited about for New York supporters. For his part, Quickley might just emerge as another welcome surprise for the Knicks.
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