It was a good Immanuel Quickley game, which is to say Christmas Day was like most others around the Knicks.
The young guard was making a two-way impact, defending at a high level and living in the paint.
The Knicks had outscored the Bucks by 14 points in the 22 minutes Quickley was on the floor.
Yet, with 3:28 remaining and a 14-point lead, coach Tom Thibodeau replaced Quickley with RJ Barrett, who was enjoying his best game in weeks.
The Bucks scored eight of the game’s next 10 points, before the Knicks rallied to close out their first win over the Eastern Conference powerhouse in four tries.
“I thought RJ had a good game going in. So did Quick,” Thibodeau explained after the rousing victory. “And that group was going pretty good and I wanted a little more size in there.”
It was only significant because it followed a season-long trend: Quickley, 24, is seeing fewer minutes despite production similar to his breakout season a year ago, when he was the Sixth Man of the Year runner-up.
When he was such a key part of the Knicks’ fifth-place finish in the East.
He’s averaging the same amount of points (14.9) and shooting the same percentage (44.8) as he did last year, yet only recording 23.8 minutes, down from his 28.9 allotment last season. His rebounding (2.7) and assist (2.5) numbers are down as a result.
Obviously, some of this is due to the logjam at guard after the addition of Donte DiVincenzo. But, taking into account how effective Quickley is, should that matter?
Quickley is the Knicks’ rotation leader in NET rating at plus-8.2 — meaning they are outscoring the opposition by 8.2 points per 100 possessions when he’s on the floor. His 109.2 defensive rating is also the best on the team.
He’s been even better in December, notching an 11.7 NET rating and 121.5 offensive rating.
Read Related Also: King's Coronation LIVE: William, Kate and Camilla arrive for Westminster Abbey rehearsal
Yet, he’s only averaging 22.2 minutes per game. Meanwhile, Barrett has a NET rating of minus-9.4 while he’s tallying 28.9 minutes. DiVincenzo is at minus-8.9 and 21.3.
So, in the month of December, Quickley is 24th in the NBA in NET rating among players who have appeared in at least 10 games, but 199th in minutes.
Take it a step further. When Quickley plays 24 or more minutes, the Knicks are 11-4.
When he doesn’t, they are 5-7.
He hasn’t complained about his role, recently saying “just whatever minutes you get, go out there and be effective.”
An added wrinkle to all of this is his contract situation, Quickley couldn’t agree to terms with the Knicks on a new deal before the season and is set to become a restricted free agent.
It has to be factored in, because maybe his future won’t be here.
Still, it feels like the Knicks need to figure out a way to get him on the floor longer. The numbers justify it.
It should be noted that Thibodeau closes games with different players.
The mainstays are Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle and Isaiah Hartenstein.
The other two spots tend to rotate, depending on matchups and which player is performing well that game.
“[It’s] part of having a good team, and one thing is we all cheer for each other,” Barrett said. “We know every game can be somebody else’s night. You get in there, you do your job and you cheer for the next man.”
