Quentin Grimes is HIM

Before this season started, I stated that Quentin Grimes would have a better career than Donovan Mitchell. They called me a mad man for believing it wasn’t worth giving up all of the Knicks young players for a guy who scores a bunch but doesn’t really do much outside of that.

Fast forward to the end of the year and the Knicks are right behind the Donovan Mitchel-led Cavs and they didn’t have to give up any of their young core to be pretty much in the same spot Cleveland is with Mitchell.

Last night’s 138-129 Knicks win over the Pacers proves my point.

Immanuel Quickley: 39 PTS
Obi Toppin: 32 PTS
Quentin Grimes: 36 PTS

This is the first trio in NBA history to each have 30 points and five 3-pointers in the same game 🔥🗽 pic.twitter.com/oz2Eaqz3We

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 6, 2023

With Julius Randle, RJ Barrett and Jalen Brunson all wearing street clothes on the bench, Quentin Grimes, Immanuel Quickley and Obi Toppin combined for 107 points. What a time to be alive. The Knicks finally have the best young core in the NBA.

But let’s focus on Quentin Grimes, specifically, who just had the best game of his NBA career.

Quentin Grimes tonight:

36 points
6 rebounds
4 assists
5 steals
60/38/75 splits
72.7% TS pic.twitter.com/bqEFx3heuv

— Teg🚨 (@IQfor3) April 6, 2023

Quentin Grimes has been the secret weapon for the Knicks this season. Shout out to coach Thibs for realizing fairly early on that it was time to evolve and give the 2nd year guard an opportunity to prove himself instead of running Derrick Rose and Evan Fournier out there for 40 combined minutes of inconsistent offense and absolutely zero defense.

Speaking of defense, that’s where Grimes’s dominance starts.

He is easily the best on-ball defender on the team. His ability to move his feet and always stay in front of his man is unbelievable. He fights through screens instead of relying on switches to bail him out and has pretty good foul discipline when considering how frequently he guards the other team’s best player and has to deal with all of their little tricks to get to the foul line.

And when he’s done putting All-Stars in handcuffs on the defensive end, Grimes sprints to the arch ready to catch and shoot with one of the quickest releases I have ever seen in my [redacted] years watching basketball.

He also has the subtle skill of being able to miss a jumper without getting in his head. He can miss a 3, get the rebound back and take another quick release 3 with no hesitation which is crucial on this young Knicks roster with guys like Randle and Barrett who appear to overthink the game when they aren’t sinking their shots. Grimes is a constant steady hand.

For the last decade, we’ve watched the game of basketball evolve with the Golden State Warriors-style of play yet the Knicks always seemed stuck in the past. Phil Jackson even came in to try and run his archaic triangle offense.

Quentin Grimes is a modern basketball player. He understands that the most valuable shots are 3’s and shots at the rim. He doesn’t hold onto the ball while he figures out what he wants to do. He acts quickly and makes the defense react to his actions. For the first time in a long time, the Knicks have a player that all 30 NBA teams would love to add to their roster.

If the Knicks intend to become a true title contender, Grimes needs to be treated like one of the core pieces. He can’t be dangled in trades. The front office can’t be cute when it’s time to negotiate contracts.

Frame that Quentin Grimes POSTER💥 pic.twitter.com/2T0hAWaAsz

— The Knicks Wall (@TheKnicksWall) April 5, 2023

This man has the potential to turn into Jimmy Butler. Just wait until the Knicks play the Cavs in the first round and Grimes puts Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland in the torture chamber every night.

It’s Quentin Grimes’s world and we’re all just lucky to live in it.

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