Quentin Grimes is the Knicks starting shooting guard. The 6’5, 23-year-old from Houston, Texas is a two-way guard who averaged 11.1 ppg in 2022-23, his second season with the Knicks.
Fresh off a 17-pt effort in which he shot 5 of 10 from 3 and played pretty good defense on Damian Lillard in an early season loss to Milwaukee on November 3, 2023, coach Tom Thibodeau was asked about Grimes’s new step-back 3. Thibs answered (16 min mark of this broadcast):
“I think he’s always had it. I think you’re seeing more of that now than before. Everyone understands the value of the shots. You make the read, can you get to the rim, if you can’t get to the rim instead of taking the long mid-range pullup — that long mid-range — you’re going to the step-back, and you’re getting to the 3 that way.”
don't leave him open 🎯@qdotgrimes pic.twitter.com/33cDEyzupU
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) November 3, 2023
Understand 3’s, Understand Rim, Understand Free Throws
“It was one of the things that we liked about him from his college days,” continued Thibs. “His shot profile was right. He understood rim, he understood 3’s, he understood free throws. And I think that’s a big part of winning.”
with the LEFT 💪 pic.twitter.com/rE9bLuQrwd
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) November 4, 2023
The Math
When asked how the Knicks decided QGrimes could play this way, Thibs said:
“The math. You watched him play and looked at the shots that he took and then looked at his career and looked at the shots that he took. And then you saw that he played both sides of the ball, so you felt like ok we have a good shot at getting a rotation player.”
“And then you look at all the other intangibles,” added Thibs. “You look at his quickness, his competitiveness, his ability to think on speed, his character, his mental quickness — all the things that drive achievement and improvement. So we felt it was a good bet.”
fourth three of the game 👌@qdotgrimes pic.twitter.com/GNSR8nMvrR
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) November 4, 2023
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