Immanuel Quickley making case to be Knicks’ starting point guard

In what’s been an otherwise disappointing stretch for the Knicks since starting the season 5-1, Immanuel Quickley is blossoming.

The second-year guard has once again electrified The Garden and his teammates, performing well enough to earn himself a spot in a sputtering starting lineup should they continue to struggle.

It was evident during the Summer League that Quickley spent the offseason rounding out the finer parts of his game. He looked much more decisive and capable of creating for others offensively, plus more adept defensively.

Quickley entered the season without a clear path towards increased playing time or ball control, with Derrick Rose and Kemba Walker ahead of him on the depth chart. An early shooting slump impeded his impact and led to some early substitutions.

IQ shot 30 percent from the field and 23 percent from deep through nine games. He cracked 15 minutes in fewer than half of those games, finishing just one contest in double figures.

Still, the improvements were evident as Quickley attempted at-the-rim finishes and passes we rarely saw in his rookie year. Defensively, he took better advantage of his active feet and quickness to cut off dribble attacks and upped his steal rate.

As the starters began floundering in November, Quickley (along with the rest of the bench) stepped up to pick up the slack. His jumper returned to form, whether via catch-and-shoot or isolation step-back.

In the eight games since, Quickley has hit double figures in six of them. He’s hitting 47 percent of his field goals and 46 percent of his threes, even closing many of these games at the point.

The scoring is still very Quickley-esque, by means of three ball or floater for the most part. His repertoire has grown, though.

Quickley’s mastered a number of scoop layups where he can sky the ball high off the glass over taller defenders or body-block them with his back on his way to the rim….