The New York Knicks were most recently embarrassed by the Milwaukee Bucks at home for their third consecutive loss, but they did walk away with one silver lining, the performance of rookie guard Quentin Grimes.
The Knicks allowed every Milwaukee starter to post double-digit points, but Grimes shined for the Knicks, recording 27 points, three steals, three assists, and three rebounds. His defense wasn’t altogether impressive, but a lack of communication and bully-ball by Milwaukee hurt New York’s efficiency, which has dropped to 25th in the league on the defensive side.
Life doesn’t get any easier this week as Tom Thibodeau and his squad prepare to face off against the Golden State Warriors. The Knicks will likely be without RJ Barrett and Obi Toppin once again, who’ve both entered COVID-19 protocols after coming in contact with a positive case against the Raptors.
The Warriors have bounced back from a tough season last year to once again being a dominant team, hosting a 21–5 record. While they have been a bit inconsistent as of late, coming off a 93 point dud against the Philadelphia 76ers, they represent a far more formidable team compared to New York.
Similar to Giannis Antetokounmpo, stopping Steph Curry is simply impossible. Limiting him is your best bet, especially since he’s shooting 40% from three-point range and attempting 13.4 per game, a career-high. Based on those numbers, he’s simply playing at an ungodly level, and he’s only a few three-point shots away from breaking Ray Allen’s all-time record.
Averaging 27.1 points per game, Curry constantly needs to be pressured with an on-ball defender, which is where Grimes may come into play. The expectation is that Alec Burks will return as the team starting point guard, but Grimes should earn significant minutes against Golden State, especially after setting a Knicks record with seven 3-PT point shots made, hitting on 53.8% from deep.
Ultimately, they need to continue building off that confidence and not stifle his progression. Given Quentin’s high-energy style of play and aggressive on-ball defending, he could be the perfect matchup on Curry. At this point, it’s worth a shot. We could see a healthy rotation of Immanuel Quickley and Grimes on Curry throughout, keeping both fresh and a defender in his face all game.