The New York Knicks will not have reigning NBA Sixth Man of the Year finalist Immanuel Quickley on the court when they face the Miami Heat Monday evening.
Quickly suffered a sprained left ankle in Saturday’s loss to Miami. He had been questionable heading into Game 4 with the Knicks down 2-1 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals series.
Immediately ahead of tip-off Monday evening from South Beach, the Knicks ruled Quickly out for the all-important game.
This can’t be considered good news for a Knicks team that has struggled getting production behind Jalen Brunson and R.J. Barrett thus far in the series. In particular, the bench has not been up to task through three games. Quickley spearheaded that unit big time during the regular year.
Immanuel Quickley stats (2022-23): 14.9 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 3.4 APG, 45% shooting, 37% 3-point
While this postseason has been somewhat of a struggle for the third-year guard from Kentucky (9.0 PPG, 35% shooting), the New York Knicks’ rotation will be impacted big time.
Head coach Tom Thibodeau kept open the possibility of expanding New York’s rotation to include veterans Evan Fournier and Derrick Rose following the team’s Game 3 loss. Whether that happens heading into Monday night remains to be seen.
What we do know is that the New York Knicks need a win on the road in order to avoid a 3-1 series deficit. Teams that find themselves in a 3-1 hole in a best-of-seven series during the NBA Playoffs go on to lose said series 95% of the time.
