Immanuel Quickley is adjusting to his new role as starting point for the Toronto Raptors.
He was the sixth man for the New York Knicks and started in just 27 games for them.
Now Quickley is the full time point guard for Toronto starting in all 21 games he has played for the Raptors thus far.
Quickley talked about his new role in Toronto at the Raptors media availability on Feb. 21:
“Being in New York I was probably the 4th guy on the scouting report now I’m probably 1 or 2 or 3.”
The 24-year-old has already had some nice moments with the Raptors. He is coming off one of the best games of his Raptors tenure against the Brooklyn Nets putting up 24 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. He did it on very efficient shooting numbers going 8-16 from the field and 5-8 from deep.
Quickley has been utilized as one of the Raptors top players and Darko Rajakovic recognizes that via Sports Illustrated’s Aaron Rose:
“It’s one thing when you come off the bench and then you play against second second-unit guys. The other thing is when you’re a starter on a team and one of the most important players in the team, different kinds of defenders are guarding you, different kinds of coverages, a different teammate is setting a screen for you.”
Quickley is being asked to play more on the ball compared to in New York. Therefore he has had to take tougher shots and create for himself.
He has gone through a little bit of a rough shooting patch in February, but hopefully his latest solid outing is a sign of things to come.
Quickley’s stats in Toronto
Quickley is averaging 16.0 points, 5.7 assists, 4.0 rebounds on 40.7 percent shooting from the field and 41.9 percent shooting from deep in 21 games for Toronto.
There is going to be a learning curve for Quickley as he continues to balance being aggressive and also being a playmaker for his teammates.
Quickley is now the Raptors lead guard so he will have to fully embrace this opportunity.
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