So a lot has been made about Grimes’ offense slump recently but a thing that has stood out to me is that Grimes doesn’t look as lock-down on defense as he did to start the season. Early on he was completely blanketing defenders but now he seems a step slow. So I looked at the numbers and he has been in a slump as an on-ball defender ever since suffering the ankle injury vs the Warriors on 12/20/22 that caused him to miss a game.
Before that injury when Grimes defended a FGA, opponents shot [-5.7% worse](https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1629656/defense-dash?DateFrom=11%2F20%2F2022&DateTo=12%2F20%2F2022) then there normal FG percentage.
Since the injury opponents are shooting [+2.4% FG% better](https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1629656/defense-dash?DateFrom=12%2F23%2F2022&DateTo=01%2F29%2F2023) on FGA that are defended that Grimes
That’s [worse](https://www.nba.com/stats/players/defense-dash-overall?DateFrom=12/23/2022&DateTo=01/29/2023&TeamID=1610612752&dir=A&sort=PCT_PLUSMINUS) than RJ, IQ, McBride, Randle and even Brunson in that same timespan. Only Hart (+4.4%) is worse
Now this stat isn’t all encompassing of Grimes’ defense since Grimes always guards the best player and plays defense that prevents players from even attempting shots. But it is troublesome that Grimes has gone from an elite defender to just a good one and I wonder if he has lost a step since the injury.
Thoughts?
by asapfetty
24 Comments
His defense is still pretty great. He is also a young developing player, I’m not worried. I think his ceiling is very high all around.
He’s also guarding their best player on every possession…
Offensive slump, defense slump, it’s like maybe we should make a little bit of change in rotation.
We are expecting way too much out of a second year player. He’s still a baby.
I haven’t really seen any dropoff with his defense, think teams are just scouting him now that he’s been playing.
Before, they didn’t have anything to prepare with so his defense was probably unexpected, now they’re more ready.
https://twitter.com/ace_zullo/status/1619731267498704898?s=46&t=QCFDvPdKefaYCbkC46ibMQ
I think his defense looks really good here. Maybe an injury slowed him idk but when you get assignments like Kyrie sometimes he’ll just get it going no matter what
I think there are a few Knicks that would benefit from a rest day. I’ll leave it at that.
Good pick up. I thought he was a step slow against Kyrie but he’s had some really solid defensive games recently like against Donovan.
I definitely think he looked better before the injury. Too bad we don’t really have any easy games soon where he can rest
He’s guarding players he’s underqualified to defend. The Knicks put him on Tatum. This is why we need a 6’8+ defender.
He was great against Donovan Mitchell a couple nights ago. Defensive FG% often doesn’t encapsulate the entire impact one has on defense, such as forcing the offensive player to pass the ball to someone else.
Jeez I wonder if that’s because our schedule is harder with better opponents. He’s guarding Kyrie Irving, Donovan Mitchell, Tatum, etc lol
Honestly I think he looks like he’s playing better defense than he is… he’s good at staying with his man but doesn’t contest well enough. I’ve seen him give guys good looks from 3 or let them score an easy bucket around the hoop a lot, even if he’s close by.
Encouraging that he isn’t getting beat though, hopefully he can improve his ability to contest without fouling/overcommitting.
It hasn’t been that quiet. It’s been an obvious fall-off.
Young dude on a young team. He is going up against big names, and I think he is doing a decent job. Yes I noticed his defense lacking a bit lately but I am also looking at who he is matched up against.
He’s playing in his first full season to date.
He’s not slumping. Teams see how to attack him now and as is the case with any young player, he has to adjust back. Every young player has to deal with this when teams have the tape out on you.
This is just an all around slump
But keep playing him 10 minutes more per game than quickley though.
You can’t go into a defensive slump you Mo mo’s. QG guards the toughest assignments every night and is learning while his body adapts to the longest season of his young life. Despite that he’s doing alright and I think we can all agree that the flashes we’ve seen are legitimate game! He got skills and he only gets better with time and reps. He’s still figuring out what he can and can’t do at this level besides being limited by his role.
He’s a soph, not a vet and one must account that being inconsistent is part of most young players development. He is often asked to guard very tall, long wings, so I think the league has figured out how to run screens so that he switches onto a mismatch like Tatum, for example.
Thibs is invested in his future and he should continue to get mins but perhaps as part of the 2nd unit, start IQ . RJ must also lift his consistency on d, that’s part of the problem.
I’m more concerned about the amount of wide open looks that he is missing. Can’t start/play that many minutes and have that few amount of points in too many games.
It’s right around the time Mitchell Robinson got injured. Defense is a team effort so when our best defensive player goes down, our defense as a whole suffers
There’s a lot of noise in opponent FG% numbers defended by individual players. He was never as good as -5.7% and he’s probably not as bad as +2.4% now.
Grimes had the advantage of teams not having a lot of film and expectations of him since he didn’t play many minutes last season. They probably have a much more detailed scouting report now and know his weaknesses better. He’s also guarding the best players on the opposing teams.
We need upgrades on the bench to keep the defensive intensity up without losing stamina.