Friday night’s triumph over the Chicago Bulls marks the sixth straight win for the New York Knicks, which, at the moment, is the longest active streak in the NBA.
Tom Thibodeau’s club executed their game plan to perfection whilst on the road at the United Center, with four of their five starters finishing the bout with 19 or more points and the team as a whole outscoring Chicago 114-91.
Though there were many impressive individual performances on the night, perhaps the most noteworthy proved to be second-year guard Quentin Grimes’, as he once again saw a starting nod within the team’s lineup and, once again, displayed his tremendous two-way skillset.
DON’T LET QUENTIN GRIMES HEAT UP 🔥
3-3 FROM DOWNTOWN NOW
With December 16 serving as both the sixth consecutive win for the Knicks and the 13th consecutive start for the 22-year-old, backcourt cohort Jalen Brunson addressed the impact that Grimes has had on the team throughout this stretch during his postgame interview.
“He works really hard…He’s a tremendous worker and it’s paying off. He’s just doing what he does,” Brunson said.
Logging 28 minutes on the night, Grimes finished the contest with a stellar stat line of 22 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, and a steal on 60% shooting from the floor and 55.6% shooting from deep.
Knicks Coach Not Surprised by Grimes
As mentioned, Friday marked the 13th straight game where Quentin Grimes has slotted into the starting two position for the New York Knicks and, during this period, the ball club has gone 8-5, while throughout their current six-game winning streak the sophomore has served as a key contributing factor on both ends of the floor.
During his postgame media session, Tom Thibodeau was asked by a reporter if he was surprised to see the guard’s contributions since taking on a bigger role within the rotation this season.
In response, the head man suggested that considering his play from last season, Grimes’ recent performances should be considered far from shocking.
“It’s funny because you tend to forget the things that he did last year, you know, so when you watch him in practice and you see the way he competes and the things that he does…it doesn’t surprise me,” Thibodeau said.
“And I think his teammates search him out and he’s starting to get a rhythm as to where his shots are going to come from. He’s doing a good job of moving without the ball.”
THIS SEQUENCE FROM QUENTIN GRIMES 🔥
Nails a three
Locks down Trae
Nails another three
Since the Knicks embarked on their league-leading win streak on December 4, Quentin Grimes has posted impressive per-game averages of 13.5 points and 4.8 rebounds on a highly efficient 45.7% shooting from distance and has sported an average box plus-minus rating of +13.1.
Knicks Favorites to Land Russell Westbrook
The Knicks may be rolling, but this is not to say that Leon Rose and company will stand pat and keep the club’s current collection of talent intact as we make our way through the remainder of the season.
In fact, some are under the impression that New York could be a real player for Los Angeles Lakers point guard Russell Westbrook if he were to be shopped, as Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News shared on December 13 the Knickerbockers are currently viewed as the heavy favorites to land the former league MVP.
t.co/Hq8iqLXad9 compiles sportsbook odds and it has the Knicks as heavy favorites to trade for Russell Westbrook
Should such a trade transpire, in all likelihood, it would be done for the Knicks to free up cap space beyond the 2022-23 campaign for Westbrook’s lucrative $207 million contract comes off the books following this season.
On the year, the nine-time All-Star is averaging 14.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 7.5 assists for the Lakers.
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Knicks Open Up About Quentin Grimes Following Win Over Bulls