The New York Knicks suffered a 146-122 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday and were eliminated from the NBA's inaugural In-Season Tournament in the quarterfinals. While the Knicks' core trio of lefties (Jalen Brunson, RJ Barrett, Julius Randle) put up strong stat lines, they got little support from role players. Quintin Grimes, who starts at shooting guard, took one shot in 18 minutes in the loss.
Grimes spoke up about his frustrations regarding coach Tom Thibodeau's tight leash and his lack of involvement on offense after the contest.
"It's just hard when you go the whole quarter without touching the ball, the whole second quarter without touching the ball, and then you get one shot and you got to make it," Grimes told reporters. "So it's tough going out there and just standing in the corner the whole game. Then you got to make the shot when you shoot the ball one or two times per game. It is what it is."
Grimes didn't take a shot until the third quarter on Wednesday and he sat for the entirety of the final frame. He's taken less than five shots and three straight games and didn't log any fourth-quarter minutes in any of those contests. His scoring average has dropped from 11.3 points to 5.8 points since last season, and his efficiency has plummeted as well.
"It feels like if I don't hit the shot, I'm coming out," Grimes said. "So every shot I shoot probably weighs like 100 pounds if I don't make it, and our defense, it ain't cutting it, so I know I ain't going back in."
Only the Chicago Bulls and Portland Trail Blazers average fewer assists per game than the Knicks. Julius Randle, who scored a game-high 41 points, acknowledged that New York should improve on sharing the sugar moving forward.
"He has a hard job, a tough role," Randle said. "But we have to do a better job of trying to get him better looks."
