Mar 5, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; New York Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley (5) gets a drink during a stop in play during the overtime period against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
The NBA playoffs are almost upon us. Which reserves are ready to shine brightest on the biggest stage?
It’s hard to win a playoff series in the NBA. The playoffs are often viewed as a referendum on star players — can the max-contract guys deliver when it counts most?
But playoff success never hinges on just one or two players. For a team to win a seven-game series, they need to have role players rise to the moment. A sixth man catching fire at just the right time can tilt the balance of a match. Conversely, if a well-regarded reserve disappears, they provide a weak link to attack at both ends of the floor.
Every playoff team has key bench contributors, but a few will be of the utmost importance if their teams want to make a playoff run.
Which bench players could have the biggest impact on an NBA Playoffs series?
3. Immanuel Quickley, New York Knicks
We saw on Sunday night just how high Quickley can fly (I’ve been listening to too much Walt Frazier). Against the league-leading Celtics, in Boston, without starting point guard Jalen Brunson, the Knicks seemed up against the wall. In danced Quickley, who calmly dismantled the Celtics with an eye-popping 38/8/7 and six combined steals and blocks while playing 55 minutes in a double-OT win.
Come playoff time, the Knicks will undoubtedly find themselves in a hole at some point. Quickley’s ability to be the best player on the court in a given game is exactly the insurance policy the Knicks need for nights when Randle or Brunson can’t get it going. Quickley’s scoring upside has been ably demonstrated, but his value might be even higher on the defensive end.
Quickley is in the 87th percentile for Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus, and he ranks above noted defensive stoppers like Jaden McDaniels, Aaron Gordon, and Jimmy Butler in FiveThirtyEight’s RAPTOR ratings. As Fred Katz pointed out in The Athletic, Quickley is the Knicks’ talkiest defender, too, guiding teammates through switches and assigning matchups in transition.
While Quickley’s playmaking stats won’t wow you, it’s important to note that he only averages 1.1 turnovers per game — a stingy mark for a guard with heavy ballhandling responsibilities and something that endears him to coach Tom Thibodeau. Quickley’s even rebounding at career-best levels.
Quickley seems to be getting better as the season progresses, too: his three-point percentage has increased each month since November, topping out at 46% through three games in March. He’s stepping into Lillard-range shots with confidence:
The reliability of his outside shot has made it easier than ever for IQ to skip into the lane for a high-arcing floater or thunderous dunk.
The Knicks haven’t won a playoff series since 2013 and hadn’t won one since 2000 before that. But for the second time in three years, the Knicks have eyes on home-court advantage in the first round. If they expect to defeat Cleveland or anyone else in the playoffs, they’ll need Quickley’s two-way play to take another step forward.