On the one hand, Tuesday’s in-season tournament quarterfinal against the Bucks in Milwaukee is still a regular-season game.
But, there is also more on the line as well: a chance to advance to the semifinals in Las Vegas.
“It’s something we could put on our résumé as a team,” Jalen Brunson said after practice Sunday. “So if you have the chance to win something — I mean, we have a chance. So, why not? It’s another game for us, and so we’re gonna be ready to go in that aspect. There’s a little bit at stake.”
There is also money to be earned, $500,000 for each player of the championship team.
Brunson heard a quote about it from Bucks superstar Damian Lillard, of wanting to win that money for his teammates who don’t make as much as him.
“For us to go out there and BS the game or not really care about it — the guys who do play and do make a lot of money — is unfair to our teammates,” Brunson said. “Seeing, hearing that from a player of that caliber, it makes you think that, ‘All right, he’s right.’ We can’t just go out there and be like ‘Yeah, we make this much amount of money and that’s that.’ No, we go out there and play for our teammates, the guys that work hard every single day, do the scout team, that may not get the playing time they want, but they had the work ethic, they had the mindset that they wanna be there. Everyone is just as important, so you gotta take everything seriously.”
It’s $200,000 for the losing team in the final and all semifinalists get $100,000.
Just by advancing to this point, every Knick will receive $50,000.
Coach Tom Thibodeau has a simple reason for sticking with struggling shooting guard Quentin Grimes in the starting lineup: The unit overall is performing well.
The Knicks’ opening five of Grimes, Brunson, Julius Randle, RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson has a NET rating of plus-7.3, which means they are outscoring the opposition by 7.3 points per 100 possessions.
“My thing is, I’m worried about the team playing well,” the coach said. “And so, I look at, how are we playing? If one guy doesn’t make shots, that’s part of the game. What are the other things that you’re doing when you’re on the floor? Is the unit performing well? To me, it’s not about individuals. It’s about, how is the unit performing? And if the unit is performing well, then you’re fine, right? “And if you’re open, you shoot it, and if you’re guarded, you make a play. He can help a lot, and he does. He’s guarding a lot of different players for us. That’s a very important role for our team.”
The Knicks, it should be noted, have a minus-2.2 NET rating when Grimes is on the floor.
He is averaging 6.2 points and shooting a career-worst 34.9 percent from 3-point range in 23.1 minutes.
He hasn’t reached double figures in his last six games, and has made just four of his last 20 3-point attempts.
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