Knicks: 3 reasons Frank Ntilikina deserves playing time

Tom Thibodeau has some difficult rotation decisions coming up. Here’s why Frank Ntilikina deserves an opportunity to earn his spot.

You either eagerly clicked this article thrilled to read about young New York Knicks guard Frank Ntilikina’s ability to positively impact the game, or you furiously hate-clicked so you could properly ridicule this whole premise. I don’t blame you either way.

Obviously, Frank is one of the more polarizing Knicks prospects in recent memory. Most people look at his per-game statistics; they use the impenetrable eye-test to look at his all-too-often tentative style of play, and think, “The Knicks whiffed on another lottery pick.”

Meanwhile, people who fancy themselves basketball purists (OK, we can call them snobs) point to arcane analytics and the difficult-to-measure phenomenon of “defense” to prove that Frank is inarguably a winning player.

I’m not here to pick sides. I’m not here to argue. I’m certainly not telling you that giving Frank playing time will be a panacea to rid the Knicks of their many blights. I’m just here to convince you that, if he is healthy, the Knicks could use his skill set and he deserves a chance to earn a rotation spot.

Don’t shoot the messenger. Speaking of shooting, let’s start there.