“I feel like we still have a long way to go, but we’ve made great strides and we’re going to continue to keep getting better.”
Immanuel Quickley said that the other night after the Knicks beat the Boston Celtics at MSG. He was talking about his team; he was also, inadvertently, describing himself.
Quickley has made “great strides” in his third NBA season. He’s one of the biggest reasons why the Knicks are 11 games over .500 over the past three months. Along the way, Quickley has put together a strong campaign for the NBA’s Sixth Man award.
The counting stats alone are impressive. Entering play Tuesday, Quickley was seventh among NBA reserves in total points, eighth in total assists and 19th in total rebounds.
He’s one of three reserves with at least 620 points, 145 assists and 200 rebounds. The others? Malcolm Brogdon and Russell Westbrook. Brogdon, Westbrook, Tyrese Maxey, Norman Powell, Bobby Portis and Malik Monk also have strong Sixth Man candidacies.
To qualify for the award, a player must come off the bench in more games than he starts.
Quickley will easily qualify. And if he finishes the season playing as well as he has over the past three months, Quickley will certainly be part of the discussion for the Sixth Man.