Thibodeau ‘hopeful’ Grimes gets some preseason reps
The Knicks only have two preseason games remaining, and head coach Tom Thibodeau is “hopeful” that second-year guard Quentin Grimes gets into at least one of them.
The 2021 first-round draft pick has sat out each of the team’s first two preseason contests — sharp victories over the Pistons and the Pacers at the Garden — with a foot injury.
“I’m hopeful. Each day, he’s done more and more. And so there’s a progression to it,” Thibodeau said after the Knicks held an open practice in front of select fans Sunday at Columbia. “He pretty much did everything today in practice, so we’ll see how he feels [Monday]. Just follow the plan. We know what he can do.”
Thibodeau had said at the start of training camp that he expected veteran Evan Fournier to open the season as the starting shooting guard ahead of Grimes, who averaged 6.1 points over 45 appearances as a rookie.
The Knicks will visit Indiana on Wednesday before returning to the Garden on Friday for their preseason finale against the Wizards.
Asked if it’s important for the 22-year-old Grimes to see some preseason action, Thibodeau added, “The thing is, like, he by far probably put in more work than anyone all summer. So I’m not worried about that [conditioning] aspect of it. We see him every day, sometimes multiple times in a day. And so it’s whenever he’s ready to go. This is more precautionary right now, so I know he’ll be ready to go.”
➤ The Knicks hadn’t held their annual open practice at Columbia in the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Thibodeau praised the fans as “special” and said “it feels a lot more like we’re getting back to normal.”
“Knicks fans are great. They’re passionate, they’re very engaging, so it’s great to be able to come out here and talk to them and see all the young kids,” Immanuel Quickley added. “This is my third year and we haven’t had the chance to do this, so this was pretty cool.
“To get a chance to interact with the fans, I was once that little kid that was trying to talk to the NBA players, so it was cool to be able to give back.”