Frank Ntilikina's shooting woes cost Knicks guard his starting job
Frank Ntilikina of the Knicks looks on against the Pacers at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 31. Credit: Jim McIsaac
OKLAHOMA CITY — Through his rookie year Frank Ntilikina never got a chance to start at point guard and it took to the sixth game of this season for him to get that chance. And it took just nine games with the job for Ntilikina to have it taken away.
With a lineup shuffle Ntilkina went to the bench Wednesday. The 20-year-old former lottery pick did start the first five games of the season at small forward and then made the switch to his natural position. But after two solid starts he shot just 28 percent from the field over the last seven games, including 3-for-23 from three-point range.
“I think it’s just getting to a place where you really just find your level where your game is at, and your comfort zone and find a belief in yourself that you know every game, ‘I can bring this to the table,’ ” Knicks coach David Fizdale said. “Again, it’s just trying to get him in a place where he can hang his hat and say, ‘This is where I am right now’ and build from there.”
Porzingis speaks — sort of
Kristaps Porzingis has not spoken with Knicks writers since the media day nearly two months ago, but he spoke with GQ Magazine and provided a bit of an update on his rehab process.
“It’s hard to say what a typical day is like,” Porzingis said. “Sometimes I have workouts where the knee doesn’t feel as good. Mentally, that’s the most difficult part, because you want to keep going and you want to do more, but there’s something holding you back, because you shouldn’t push it too much.
“I’m always trying to be smart and patient with it, but at some point, you get anxious and antsy. I’m already doing some contact drills, and things where I’m competing against somebody. It’s good that it’s coming to an end, but in many ways, it’s been a blessing in disguise. I’ve learned so much about my body and myself. My vision is much clearer on many, many things.”
Fizdale, who found himself in an awkward situation last week for his description of where Porzingis was in his rehab from the torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered in February, was asked about the comments, but said he had just heard about them and didn’t know the facts.
