There was a lot to hate about the Knicks’ 116-113 defeat against the Portland Trail Blazers. The supposedly formidable Knick defense conceded 70 points in the first half, and they trailed by 20 percent for much of the game. The defensive dynamo that is Elfrid Payton (sarcasm warning) could not stop Damian Lillard, who had 15 points in the first quarter. The furious ex-Knick Enes Kanter played out Mitchell Robinson thoroughly and even played a good defense against Julius Randle.
But forget it all for a moment, and let’s focus on Immanuel Quickley. Nearly every Knicks fan asked Quickley to start, and on Sunday night he showed why he nearly sparked a 20-point return with an insane 31-point performance.
IQ was animal from outside the arc and shot 5-8.
He also shot 8-8 on free throws, thanks to some clever skills.
He had 4 assistants, and could have had many more … I counted three excellent lobbies that knocked down the hands of different Knicks sizes, especially Nerlens Noel. When IQ was finally able to play with Mitch, the results were magical.
Mitch quickly again to give us at least one more highlight to smile in this one
It’s also back to a three-point game with ten seconds left pic.twitter.com/ICsk5tAE4y
– The Strickland (@TheStrickland) 25 January 2021
This is what we wanted – competitive games with the kids showing real growth. I would love to see more of the rest of the team next time – and I want them to leave Elfrid Payton in Portland – but the IQ looks like a goalkeeper.
Matt Miranda had some trouble watching the match, but we promise you that at some point tomorrow he will have the summary. Rest until then.