When Knicks need rapid offense, Immanuel Quickley is their guy

There are some players who get rattled after missing several shots in a row. And then there is Immanuel Quickley.

"He always thinks the next one is going in," Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. "They always say the great shooters have very short memories and he does. That’s what I love about him."

Thibodeau was between coaching jobs when he first heard about Quickley. His longtime assistant Daisuke Yoshimoto had taken a job as a video coordinator at the University of Georgia. After the Bulldogs played Kentucky, Yoshimoto was so impressed with the way Quickley had scored 15 points against the future No. 1 overall pick Anthony Edwards, that he called Thibodeau and told him to keep his eye on him.

Thibodeau did, meaning he knew what he was getting long before the Knicks drafted Quickley with the No. 25 overall pick in 2020. Since then, Thibodeau has only grown more enamored with Quickley’s determination and confidence. So enamored that he has pretty much given him the green light to keep launching the ball up, regardless of the initial outcome.

And that’s just fine with the second-year guard out of Kentucky, who exploded for 12 fourth-quarter points earlier this week to lead the Knicks to a win over the Lakers.

"My teammates find me in great spots, my coaches put me in a position to be successful and just try to keep my confidence," Quickley said. "Whether the shot is falling or not, you just want to continue to keep shooting, make the right play, continue to defend. They scored like 19 points in the fourth quarter, so that’s what we’re going to do, let our defense lead into our offense, and that’s what we did."

Yes, the streaky nature of Quickley’s game can be a little difficult for fans to watch when things are not going well. Take the beginning of the season. Quickley struggled to land his shot in the first nine games of the season and as a result reached double figures only once during that stretch.

"Interesting, at the beginning of the year, he started off where he wasn’t making it, and it didn’t faze him one bit," Thibodeau said. "They’re his shots, they’re in and out, he always thinks the next one is going in."

That’s exactly the type of confident shooter off the bench that Thibodeau has loved over the course of his career. Quickley will attempt and can hit big shots from all over the court. His baskets are often so significant that they can change the direction of the game.

Quickley knows how to seize the moment and as a result has become a reliable late-game energizer. While Knicks starters Julius Randle, Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier have been inconsistent in crunch time, Quickley has produced.

"You can’t put a leash on Quick," Randle said. "He’s a guy who can get extremely hot really fast."

Heading into Friday night’s game against the streaking Phoenix Suns, Quickley and Alec Burks led the Knicks in fourth-quarter scoring this season. As a result, Quickley has been a fixture in the final quarter lately. Over the last nine games, Quickley has been on the bench for only six minutes in the final quarter. During the same stretch, Walker has played a total of 10 minutes.

Said Quickley of his fourth-quarter philosophy: "Whether the shot is falling or not, you just want to continue to keep shooting, make the right play, continue to defend."

By Barbara Barker

barbara.barker@newsday.commeanbarb

Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.