Knicks' Quentin Grimes losing minutes of playing time to Josh Hart
New York Knicks' Quentin Grimes against Orlando on Feb. 7, 2023. Credit: AP/John Raoux
ATLANTA — Quentin Grimes is a starter for the Knicks and will be a Rising Star at this weekend’s All-Star festivities.
But the second-year guard’s minutes did the opposite of rising after the Knicks acquired Josh Hart at the trade deadline.
In the two games in which Hart suited up going into Wednesday, Grimes played 22 minutes both times. That was after Grimes went 10 straight games with at least 30 minutes per outing.
Coach Tom Thibodeau said someone was going to lose time when Hart got into the rotation. He wasn’t kidding.
“I think that’s how it’s been really the whole year,” Grimes said before the Knicks visited the Hawks in their final game before the All-Star break. “Thibs kind of goes with who’s playing good, who definitely deserves to be out there. So you’ve got to go out there and whoever’s making the most impact in the game is who he’s going to rock with, which he should, for sure.”
Thibodeau has been rocking with Grimes for some time and the 22-year-old had been delivering until recently. Grimes had five consecutive games with at least 10 points from Jan. 28-Feb. 5, but didn’t crack double-digits in scoring in the last four games going into Wednesday.
“It’s just kind of the late part of the season and getting a little tired,” Grimes said. “Probably needed to rest a little bit, probably, going into the break. I know everybody's going to go through something sometime. I’m not worried about it at all.”
Grimes is still starting, but he hasn’t been on the court at the end of games. Who finishes games is as important to Thibodeau as who starts, or perhaps more important.
“You want to finish games,” Grimes said. “You’ve got to go out there and you can’t think about it. That’s when you start messing up. You go out there and play the way you’ve been playing all year and not worry about that and just play the game.”
Grimes will be on “Team Joakim” in the four-team Rising Stars format. The team is named after former Knick Joakim Noah.
“I'm really just going to go out there and have fun,” Grimes said. “My first All-Star weekend. I know basically everybody in the Rising Stars game, so just going to go out there and have a good time. Go out there and try to win.”
Grimes said getting named to the Rising Stars roster was “one of the goals I had set for myself coming in personally, so I just kind of scratch it off the list and check it off. It’s been good to kind of get that accomplishment.”
And when he comes back to the Knicks and has to continue to earn his minutes as Hart gets more comfortable with his new team?
“It’s not about minutes, it’s trying to win games,” Grimes said. “He helps us win games. That’s the main thing. He’s coming in to help us win games. That’s all I really care about.”
Grimes was asked if there are things he can learn from Hart, who is in his sixth NBA season.
“Definitely,” he said. “He’s definitely got a lot of experience. He’s played with a lot of great players in his time, for sure, so you’ve definitely got to watch out there and watch how hard he plays and try to go out there and try to match it, for sure. He’s definitely going to make winning plays on and off the ball. So he's definitely going to help us out, for sure.”
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
