Frank Ntilikina injured, so Grizzlies' Ja Morant runs free
Julius Randle #30 of the New York Knicks drives between Jaren Jackson Jr. #13 and Solomon Hill #44 of the Memphis Grizzlies during the second half at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020 in New York City. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Interim Knicks coach Mike Miller said Frank Ntilikina was going to “very much be a part of” the team’s defensive game plan against the Grizzlies and their rookie sensation point guard, Ja Morant, on Wednesday night.
But, Miller said, he was informed just before game time that Ntilikina was unavailable because of a groin injury.
So, without their best defensive point guard, the Knicks allowed Morant to roam free for 18 points and 10 assists in the Grizzlies’ 127-106 victory at the Garden. Morant was credited as being plus-42 during his 27:31 on the court.
Elfrid Payton and Dennis Smith Jr. manned the point for the Knicks. Payton was a minus-19 in his 34:53 and Smith was minus-2 in 13:07.
“We didn’t get enough stops,” Miller said. “I give Memphis credit that they made shots when they had to to keep us from closing that gap more than what we did.”
Wednesday was a repeat of what happened on Tuesday in Charlotte, when Smith took Ntilikina’s No. 2 point guard spot and played well in 14:33 in the Knicks’ 97-92 defeat.
All this could be leading into a move by the Feb. 6 trade deadline. The Knicks acquired Smith from Dallas in the Kristaps Porzingis deal, and the former lottery pick has not yet proven to be anything more than a talented tease. But he’s still only 22 – eight months older than Ntilikina.
On Tuesday, Smith scored seven points and had two assists. Ntilikina, who entered the game for the first time in the fourth quarter, scored three points in 3:05.
“I thought [Smith] had a solid outing,” Miller said of Tuesday’s game. “Particularly the first turn. I thought he really did a good job touching the paint – that’s a big emphasis for us, particularly in transition of getting inside. He set up several shots off of his penetration, scored a couple, ran the team, was good defensively.”
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
