Quentin Grimes’ quickness isn’t just about his legs. It’s his eyes.
line up every NBA 100 Yard Dash player Grimes probably won’t win. But in his second professional season, a theme emerged. Grimes makes his 3-point pass past his arc, the defender rushes to close him out, and Grimes flies by him. And on the next pass it happens again. and again. and again.
Second Spectrum, the bible of basketball geeks, has a niche stat called “Blowby Rate.” The percentage of times the dribbler blows a defender out when driving into the hoop. He has 174 of his NBA players with as many drives as Grimes this season. His 22-year-old up-and-coming player for the Knicks has the highest blow-by percentage among them.
174 players is no small group. Many of them are speedsters. And Grimes darts by defenders more often than anyone else.
Spot-up threats dominate the stats, and for good reason.The opponent would rather be Trey Murphy or Aaron Nesmith (Joining Grimes in the top 10 of the league) Dribbling over shooting 3. A defensive scheme to get that type of player out of his arc by 3 points closes up hard and worries about dribbling penetrating later.
Grimes definitely falls into this category of players. He has consumed 42% of his 3 seconds in seven attempts per game since his December 7th. This is all part of the plan.
“They know about my shoot now, so I feel like my driving game has opened up a little bit.” , worked with me all summer.…I’m really just trying to see where that defender is closing out and you can go in the middle, the baseline.”
The next time Grimes receives a pass on the wing, don’t look at the ball or his hands or even his feet. look into his eyes
Many young players pre-decide where they want to drive before the defenders start closing out. If the driver is more comfortable going left, he goes left. If the path is on a particular side of the body, the path can drift in that direction.
Grimes approaches this moment differently.
“I can kind of see people running hard at me,” he said. “I know if they’re coming to my right, my left. Read and react. Quick decision. Left or right car.”
And then comes the next read.If help comes from paint, he knows he can throw it away Mitchell RobinsonIf someone falls from the perimeter, he knows his teammates are open along a 3-point arc.
And that’s why this skill is important. Grimes doesn’t have to leave defenders behind, Knicks When he does it, he’s often scoring.
Grimes has become the ideal secondary shot creator. The Knicks don’t use him for pick-and-roll runs, nor does he fight one-on-one except in emergencies. But when he attacks these closeouts, he’s on the automatic.
His shots are almost exclusively 3s or layups. He has achieved his 74% looks best in the rim. He’s recording his just over one assist in every five of his drives, placing him in his 97th percentile in the NBA, according to information tracked by Second Spectrum.
“We knew he was a playmaker,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said. , and I think we’re going to see that more and more.”
It all starts with Grimes passing a desperate defender. This happens for reasons beyond traditional quickness.
“When you look at quickness, it’s both mental and physical,” said Thibodeau. “So I anticipate what’s coming — ‘Who’s approaching me? How are they approaching me? — He might not look like a great athlete, but , is a great athlete, but I think it’s his mind, his predictiveness, his reading speed, that’s what really sets him apart.”
Grimes’ play is one of the positive stories to come from the Knicks’ 11-5 record. As the Knicks (21-18) prepare to play in Toronto, he also has two thoughts.
keep high
Only a few months away from Thibodeau suggests that Robinson is the best offensive rebounder in the NBA. It doesn’t seem like such a bold claim now.
Robinson was second in the NBA in offensive rebounding percentage last season. Stephen Adams of memphis grizzliesIn the 2022-23 season, he’s in second place again, but behind … you guessed it, Adams.
Despite their contrasting styles, Robinson and Adams have arguably established themselves as the two best players in the league on offensive grass. Adams plays under the rim, moving opponents out of the way and using his giant palm to hook the board. Robinson, on the other hand, is relentless. he jumps over people His arms are long enough to cover the entire paint. He taps the ball his five times before finally pulling it away from an eager defender.
But there is one habit Robinson can change. That means that once you catch the ball above the noggin, you have to keep it there.
Robinson often grabs the offensive board and dribbles quickly. Sometimes it is necessary. The big players use the so-called crab he dribbles. This is to quickly slam him to the ground once with both hands. If Robinson is out of form, he dribbles away.
But what you may not realize is that 7 feet is very tall. And Robinson gives up his height advantage when he brings the ball low. detroit pistons:
Not dribbling all the time. Sometimes his hand just falls off. He still commits occasionally after catching a pass. Indiana Pacers:
If Taj Gibson was still around. Gibson sticking to fundamentals, Washington Wizardshaving played the last three seasons with Robinson, has never once brought the ball under his shoulder after an attacking board (which is probably no exaggeration).
If Robinson could get more used to holding rocks high, he’d be able to muscle an extra bucket every now and then and avoid unnecessary turnovers in the process.
return of obi
obi toppin He’s technically back from a broken leg that has kept him out of the game since early December, but he’s not yet ready to play.
Knicks hire Toppin for Wednesday San Antonio Spurs, but, as expected, the 24-year-old did not attend the game. Toppin continues to climb even after he’s been out for four weeks. When he returns, Thibodeau says he will play.
In other words, change is coming.
Thibodeau switched to a nine-man rotation before 16 games. Since then, the Knicks are 11-5.Coach reiterated that he likes to use RJ Barrett In the second unit, 9 rotating players instead of 10 is a more maneuverable strategy. Barrett is often the starting sub in games and then returns to play alongside the reserves.
Even with Toppin ready, there’s a good chance the Knicks will stick with just nine players. So whose place can he take?
It has to be one of the big ones. Toppin said he hasn’t played 3, so given his age and contract, it’s clear that Jericho his Sims will give way.But Isaiah HartensteinIt’s also worth mentioning that he signed a two-year, $16 million contract with the Knicks this summer. Hartenstein has struggled with using him more as a rim diver than in a high post facilitator role in New York. LA Clippers last season.
There will be surprises and it will be fascinating to see how Thibodeau uses him if Sims maintains his place in the rotation. was comfortable switching to any type of attacking player. However, in Toppin’s absence, Sims has almost exclusively played a power forward on defense, which means regularly starting possessions at non-center. And he’s doing great.
Thibodeau has also shown increased confidence in his defense against elite offensive players.This possession against the Raptors Pascal SiakamWas in the midst of a Career Game summarized Sims’ abilities as follows:
Sims confronts Siakam for final possession of the Quarter. He sabotages his drive, even narrowly avoiding slipping out of his shoes.He sticks to the All-NBA wing, unhindered by a nasty screen from years of irritation Fred VanVleetHe stays ahead of the man on his way to 52 points. And he gets his hand pinched at the last second.
Same with Siakam here, Sims still has too many fouls. He reaches, but is versatile. It’s his play on the perimeter that makes us wonder if he has the best jibe with Toppin on defense.
If so, would he entice Thibodeau to drop Hartenstein, the Knicks’ mid-level exception signing? With Downlow’s paint protector, Hartenstein, the matchup is tougher, and the scheme is similar. The Knicks have continued this run thanks to their revamped defensive-minded identity. they are flocking.
Of course, playing Sims leads to many of the spacing issues the second unit currently has, with Hartenstein and Sims next to each other.
