Throughout the lengthy NBA regular season, several decisions are made that will have a lasting impact. For New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau, one of those decisions came in early December with the team’s performance floundering.
Starting shooting guard Quentin Grimes was not shy when it came to speaking about his role with the team. He was not happy with the limited touches that he was receiving and was playing on eggshells, knowing if he made a mistake a quick hook was coming.
He had been in the starter’s role for more than a season, as Thibodeau liked the two-way play he brought to the table. Grimes was so well-liked, that he was held out of trade talks centered around Donovan Mitchell during the 2022 NBA offseason.
But, Thibodeau had a decision to make. A player was disgruntled and he needed to figure out a way to alleviate the issue. Almost a year to the day that Thibodeau made a huge change to the team’s rotation, another one was needed.
NBA NEWS & SCORES: Donte DiVincenzo, Quentin Grimes, New York Knicks Updates
He decided to remove Grimes from the starting lineup and insert Donte DiVincenzo. It is a move that has worked about as well as anyone could have hoped. Grimes played better off the bench before injuring his knee, while DiVincenzo thrived in the starting lineup.
Sharing the backcourt with his collegiate teammate Jalen Brunson, the Villanova connection was alive and well. They picked up right where they left off all those years ago, becoming one of the best shooting backcourts in the NBA.
On Monday night, DiVincenzo had the best scoring game of his career, pouring in 40 points against the Detroit Pistons. He knocked down a Knicks franchise-record 11 3-pointers in what was his 50th start since the change was made.
It was a punctuation for just how good he has been since the move. As shared by Tommy Beer on X, DiVincenzo has been a massive upgrade at the shooting guard position over Grimes as a more aggressive offensive player.
NBA NEWS & SCORES: Donte DiVincenzo, Quentin Grimes, New York Knicks Updates
Since being inserted into the starting lineup, DiVincenzo is averaging 17.2 points, knocking down 3.8 3-pointers per game and 39.4 percent from beyond the arc. He is shooting a tidy 45 percent overall from the floor while grabbing 3.8 rebounds and handing out 3.0 assists to go with 1.3 steals.
You can handpick Grimes’ 50 best games of his tenure with the Knicks and he wouldn’t come close to averaging the numbers DiVincenzo has provided. All of that production has been needed with all of the injuries the team has endured.
With NBA All-Star Julius Randle sidelined, DiVinvenzo has picked up the scoring slack, providing a consistent second option behind Brunson. His 3-point shooting has been imperative with some awkward non-shooting lineups being deployed because of a lack of depth, providing an outlet when teams double-team Brunson.
A move that many NBA analysts panned in the offseason has turned out to be another home run by Leon Rose. DiVincenzo has taken his take to another level and has helped keep the team afloat until reinforcements arrive off the injured list.
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