New York Knicks: The state of Frank Ntilikina’s struggles
For the fans and the New York Knicks, a disappointing four-game stretch is not enough to lose confidence in Frank Ntilikina.
The past four games for the New York Knicks have taken Frank Ntilikina down a slope. From the promise he showed in the first two weeks of 2018-19, that disappeared with hitting just 24 percent of his shots for 4.3 points and 5.0 assists.
Perhaps the most eye-opening statistic: Ntilikina has missed all 13 three-point attempts in this four-game stretch. It brought his season average down to 28.6 percent.
Top-10 picks receive high expectations upon entry to the NBA, which Ntilikina was in 2017 at No. 8 overall. He went ahead of Dennis Smith Jr., the college star who could offer more offensively in his rookie season which happened.
Ntilikina impacted the defensive end for the Knicks, but where the fans may have looked for this on hitting shots never came to fruition. So it brought an expectation that he would improve in his sophomore season, still only 20-years-old and without much experience in North America.
Until Oct. 29, that seemed to be the case.
Ntilikina had 9.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists on 40.0 percent shooting and 41.4 percent from behind the arc. Not perfect, but a noticeable improvement, especially with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting against the Golden State Warriors.
On three-pointers, Ntilikina hit one in each of the season’s first seven games. In 2017-18, he never had a three-point streak of more than four games.
What’s the issue then?
Everyone wants Ntilikina to be aggressive, the Knicks and their fans alike. The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov spoke to him about this (subscription required), with the idea that he’s in the midst of changing his on-court thought process:
The Knicks, and everyone else, want to make Frank Ntilikina more aggressive offensively. I had a long, interesting conversation with him about how he's rewiring how he thinks.
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) November 6, 2018
"It takes time because I’m only 20 years old but I think I’m on the right path.”https://t.co/N7ikxUQ8wv pic.twitter.com/wNY2RncsSG
Ntilikina entered the NBA as an unselfish player, as DraftExpress once noted around the 2017 draft, so it’s not a surprise that shooting was secondary to passing.
The Frenchman already has a more aggressive shooting style this season, however; 8.1 attempts from the field and 3.8 on three-pointers over 6.4 and 2.0, respectively, from 2017-18.
It’s still somewhat light for a player that head coach David Fizdale uses in nearly 30 minutes per game, but an improvement nonetheless. Now, though, the shots just aren’t falling and this took Ntilikina to a season-low 16 minutes against the Chicago Bulls, two overtimes and all.
Even beyond the shots, Ntilikina’s rebounding has fallen off a cliff. That’s not to say he was elite on the boards beforehand, but grabbing just 3 in four games also raises a concern, according to Tommy Beer of Forbes:
Frank Ntilikina has been awful offensively for NY of late
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) November 6, 2018
Over the Knicks last four games, Frank is averaging 4.3 points and shooting just 24.1% from the floor. He is 0-for-13 from 3-point territory.
He's also grabbed just 3 rebounds in 104 minutes during this four-game stretch
Maybe it’s a confidence issue for Ntilikina.
Maybe it’s about trying to be something he’s not.
Maybe it’s just a slump that every player endures.
Will Ntilikina continue to miss all of his three-pointers, grab few rebounds and remain at the back-end of the offense? Probably not, and, for a player that never went on this kind of a stretch in 2017-18, this seems likes a blip on the radar instead of a trend.
Next. 20 greatest performances at MSG. dark
There’s another game for Ntilikina to iron out the kinks on Wednesday against the Atlanta Hawks. It’s only the 12th of 2018-19, and the future is still bright.