It was a tough evening for the Knicks.
Not only did they lose in the quarterfinals of the inaugural In-Season Tournament to the Milwaukee Bucks, but now they have another disgruntled player.
Quentin Grimes had zero points on 0-for-1 shooting in 18 minutes of play Tuesday, a continuation of a downward trend offensively for the third-year guard. Over his last five games, including Tuesday, the 23-year-old has scored a combined 13 points on 4-of-18 shooting, including 3-of-12 from three.
So what’s going on with Grimes? Well, he has some thoughts.
“It feels like if I don’t hit the shot, I’m coming out,” Grimes said in the locker room on Tuesday, via the Daily News. “So every shot I shoot probably weighs like 100 pounds if I don’t make it, and our defense, it ain’t cutting it, so I know I ain’t going back in.”
Head coach Tom Thibodeau was asked if a change in the lineup is being considered with Grimes’ recent struggles in mind, but he put the loss on the entire team, not just one player.
“I look at how the unit has functioned. And so, I would say tonight, we didn’t play well, and to put it on Quentin is not fair,” said Thibodeau. “I don’t think we really had anyone who played really well. So, we’re capable of a lot better. You win together, you lose together. Just focus on the improvement and getting ready for the next game.”
In 18 games this season, Grimes is averaging just 5.8 points on 36 percent shooting, the lowest since his rookie season when he averaged six points and 40 percent shooting -- and a far cry from his 11 points and 47 percent shooting from a year ago.
Grimes’ grievances on Tuesday echoes Josh Hart’s frustrations from late November. Hart spoke about how he was struggling to get into a rhythm with so few touches. Those quotes came out early in the day. That night, Hart erupted for a season-high 17 points against the Charlotte Hornets.
Perhaps Grimes is hoping his public comments result in some offensive tinkering when it comes to his role. He had just one shot, which came in the third quarter when Julius Randle forced the Bucks’ defense to collapse on him while driving. The forward kicked the ball out to Grimes for a wide-open three, but the guard missed.
“It’s just hard when you go the whole quarter without touching the ball, the whole second quarter without touching the ball, and then you get one shot and you got to make it,” Grimes said. “So it’s tough going out there and just standing in the corner the whole game. Then you got to make the shot when you shoot the ball one or two times per game. It is what it is. We’ll see.”
The Knicks will have a few days to try and see if they can get Grimes more involved in the offense. With their In-Season Tournament hopes dashed, they’ll travel to Boston to take on the Celtics on Friday.