Knicks rookie point guard Immanuel Quickley won’t start in Wednesday night’s season opener against the Pacers – but Mitchell Robinson will
Quickley, who became a preseason revelation and started as point guard in the preseason final, would come off the bench when head coach Tom Thibodeau held on to veteran point guard Elfrid Payton.
Thibodeau said Quickley would still be in his 10-man rotation, indicating he could finish the game. The former Kentucky stud added electricity and photographed outdoors, the latter a major weakness of Payton’s.
“I think it’s a compilation of things,” said Thibodeau when asked why Payton would start. “That’s how it went in practice, the games, the way in which groups play together. And starting has never been more important to me than finishing. We’ll look at the different combinations, the guys who play well, perform well, they’ll be the guys out there.
“We have young guys who will keep improving. We have the right veterans around them who can teach the young boys the tricks of the trade. So we count on everyone. ”
The only other little surprise with his other starters was that Reggie Bullock got the call about Alec Burks at the shooting guard. Burks missed the last two games for personal reasons when his wife gave birth.
Thibodeau says Bullock is giving the club a bit more three-point shots at the beginning, but the coaching staff has fallen for Burks, their best free-agent signing.
“I like both guys and they both have strengths that compliment each group,” said Thibodeau. “And I don’t know yet if we’ll turn it around again. But both guys are very effective with the starters and both guys are very effective with the bench Both have a strong defensive presence I think Alec is very good at dribbling and has game options So I think that’s a good addition to that group But we’re still figuring that out Of course Reggie gives us the extra shooting we need to open the floor and great defense. “
Robinson excelled in starting the last two games of the preseason against Nerlens Noel, who suffered a knee injury. Robinson came off strong and didn’t register a mistake in the preseason finale.