Immanuel Quickley was a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line in Friday night's win over the Wizards, and is averaging 5.5 foul shot attempts per game over his last 10, compared to 1.7 attempts over the previous 27 contests.
For Quickley, getting to the charity stripe was an adjustment in his sophomore season. After showing a knack for drawing fouls in his promising rookie year, Quickley admittedly needed time to adjust and respond to the league's changes in how it calls fouls, like many other players who needed to adapt. What helped him? Watching some other point guards and how they get to the line, including a hated rival.
"Just watching a lot of film and seeing how everybody else is getting calls," Quickley said. "I had to adjust, just like everybody else. I'm not consciously trying, but if I see someone out of position, I try to get 'em, then I try to do that.
"Trae Young gets a lot of calls, Steph [Curry] gets a lot of calls, people that put people in jail in pick-and-rolls, Chris Paul is really good at it. those guys have been really good, and I'm trying to watch and learn from them."
Young was a wizard in drawing fouls last season, something that infuriated Knicks fans when Young and the Hawks were easily dispatching New York in five games of last year's first-round series. Young is currently ninth in the league in free throw attempts, fourth among point guards. Morant is seventh overall and third among point guards, and if Quickley maintained his current pace through an entire season, he would be among the top seven point guards in the NBA in getting to the line.
What makes Quickley even more effective is his efficiency at the free throw line. In this recent 10-game stretch, Quickley has taken 55 foul shots and missed just four. Getting to the line more makes that part of his game even more prevalent. The Knicks likely don't have much gratitude for Young, but he seems to have helped Quickley reach another level.
"I'm studying myself. Well, first I'm watching other guys that are getting the calls and seeing myself in the same position and how I can do the same thing," Quickley said. "That's usually what I'm watching, and that's been working for me."
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