During the blowout loss to the Boston Celtics, Willy Hernangomez made the most of a rare opportunity to hit the hardwood for the New York Knicks.
The New York Knicks haven’t made it easy on 2017 All-Rookie First Team honoree Willy Hernangomez. 33 days after general manager Scott Perry listed Hernangomez as one of the members of the Knicks’ young core, the 23-year-old played a season-high 11 minutes in a 21-point loss.
While some may be frustrated by the fact that 11 minutes is Hernangomez’s season-high through three games, hope springs eternal for the second-year center from Spain.
Hernangomez played just four minutes in New York’s regular season opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder. It, like the most recent outing, was a 21-point loss to a championship hopeful that’s still in the process of finding its way.
While the loss to Oklahoma City was somewhat understandable, however, the loss to Boston was far more difficult to stomach.
The Celtics are mere days removed from losing All-Star small forward Gordon Hayward to a physically and emotionally devastating season-ending injury. That was traumatic enough, but Boston was also playing the Knicks without lockdown defender Marcus Smart.
Despite having to shuffle his rotation to account for the absence of two of his most valuable players, Celtics coach Brad Stevens still managed to pick the Knicks apart.
Kyrie Irving putting up 20 points and seven assists was expected, if not desirable when one considers that he was held to 5-of-13 shooting. The problem, however, is that it was 21-year-old Jaylen Brown and 19-year-old Jayson Tatum who dominated on both ends of the floor.
With all due respect to Brown and Tatum, who look the part of future All-Stars, a driving force behind New York’s lackluster showing was the abandonment of effort.
Head coach Jeff Hornacek claims the Knicks were hanging their heads and feeling sorry for themselves. It certainly appeared to be true, as the Knicks turned in the type of performance where even an optimist would struggle to find a silver lining.
If any one positive is to be taken from the loss to Boston, however, it’s that Hernangomez was ready when his number was called.
Despite enduring the adversity of being overlooked during the preseason and first two regular season games, Hernangomez came prepared. He battled down low, moved well without the ball, passed from the high post, and played his game for as long as Hornacek allowed him to.
The end result was Hernangomez recording 12 points and two steals in just 11 minutes of action, shooting 5-of-6 from the field and 2-of-3 from the free throw line.
It was a somewhat vindicating performance from Hernangomez, who has gone from a fan and coach favorite to a bench warmer. It’s still early in the season, but his resolve seems to be stronger than the roadblock placed in front of him.
The question is: Will Hernangomez receive an increase in playing time following his performance as one of the lone providers of energy and efficiency?
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It’s been a tough beginning to the 2017-18 NBA regular season for Willy Hernangomez, but the New York Knicks are going to find it difficult to keep him off the court.