During his time with the New York Knicks, Frank Ntilikina never really had a chance to shine in his four years playing under The Garden’s bright lights.
Despite being a defensive juggernaut, Ntilikina could never get it done on the offensive end, a reason why he never found his footing in New York. More often than not, Ntilikina found himself at the end of the bench, being inserted into the lineup primarily for defensive purposes.
The Knicks elected to let him walk this past offseason in free agency and he signed with the Dallas Mavericks on a two-year deal worth $3.8 million.
Since signing with Dallas, Ntilikina has found himself to be in a similar role to the one he was in New York, subbing in for his defense as he possesses a seven-foot-one wingspan, the largest for a guard in the NBA.
The French Prince has not been able to find consistent minutes under former Knick and current Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd, with his offense being lackadaisical still at this point in his career.
In the NBA playoffs, former Knick Frank Ntilikina has proven his value on defense.
Ntilikina may have been out for a majority of the Mavericks’ first-round series versus the Utah Jazz with an illness, but he has been the X factor in the second round, stopping one of the best offensive teams in the league in the Phoenix Suns.
His numbers most certainly do not jump off the board when looking at his playoff statistics, but his impact on this series goes beyond the numbers.
When guarded by Ntilikina in the series, Suns’ All-Stars Devin Booker and Chris Paul have shot a combined 3-40 from the field.
Per @nbastats,
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) May 13, 2022
Frank Ntilikina has been the primary defender on Devin Booker for a total of 29 possessions in the DAL-PHX series. Booker is 1-of-6 from the floor in 5:31 of matchup mins.
Frank logged 22 mins in the Mavs Game 6 win and tallied 4 steals and a block and was +9
In particular, Ntilikina played his best game of the series in Game 6. He scored 0 points but stole the ball four times and even blocked a shot in his 22 minutes of play.
His wingspan came in handy when trying to halt one of the league’s most high-powered offenses, giving opposing players minimal space to create shots en route to a win.
Ntilikina played a similar role in the playoffs last season with the Knicks as he looked to disrupt Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young. Unfortunately, Ntilikina never received sustainable minutes under Tom Thibodeau, especially during the playoffs, which limited his ability to get under the skin of the offense.
Going forward, Dallas needs to utilize the 23-year-old to keep their playoff run alive. In Game 7, Kidd will need to give Ntilikina decent minutes to give the team the best opportunity to win, not to mention solid offensive contributions from Luka Doncic and company.
The French Prince will look to replicate his defensive success in this series on Sunday when the Mavericks travel to Phoenix for Game 7 of the conference semifinals, tipping off at 8 p.m. Eastern Time.
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