New York Knicks: Jeff Hornacek falling short as slide continues

The Point Guard “Battle”

Emmanuel Mudiay is a noted defensive sieve. His offense wildly fluctuates from high to low, with the latter being the more frequent occurrence. This was the case in his two-and-a-half years in Denver.

It’s remained much the same with the New York Knicks.

Obviously, with Kristaps Porzingis out and the Knicks focused on rebuilding, Mudiay should be allowed to play through his mistakes. No Knicks fan in their right mind—though being a Knicks fan does put your sanity in question— should want him nailed to the end of the bench.

Young players need to be allowed to play through their mistakes to some extent.

The question, however, is what has Mudiay done to merit his berth in the starting lineup? There was never a real competition for the spot after Jarrett Jack was moved to the bench. It was simply handed to Mudiay without any obvious merit.

Offensively, he’s significantly less efficient than Trey Burke. Despite an obvious physical advantage, he also falls short in comparison to him defensively. Comparing his defense to Frank Ntilikina‘s is laughable.

Offensively, while he’s more willing and able to drive and shoot, it’s not yet apparent that’s a good thing.

Since the Knicks acquired Mudiay in February, they have a league-worst 117.0 defensive rating with him off the floor in 273 minutes. In the 303 minutes he’s played, their defensive rating somehow balloons to 122.8!

Not all of the team’s defensive struggles fall on him. He’s still just 22 years old and is adjusting to a new team with a lack of average NBA defenders who themselves are adjusting to the loss of their defensive anchor.

He can improve, but his current issues are clear and present on a nightly basis.

However, when Hornacek laments his team’s lack of defensive effort it rings hollow as he continues to start Mudiay.