Frank Ntilikina is already thriving with Kristaps Porzingis
By John Hugar
When the New York Knicks drafted Frank Ntilikina with the eighth overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, the reaction was predictable: BOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Yes, he got the same cold reception Kristaps Porzingis received two years before. In both cases, you could sort of see why: Ntilikina and Porzingis are international players, and therefore less known to the casual fan. There were players left on the board who felt like more known quantities, and Knicks fans didn’t want to take the chance that someone could be the next Dirk Nowitzki when they could just as easily be the next Darko Milicic.
Porzingis has definitively proven the doubters wrong, thriving as a rookie and currently looking like a potential MVP candidate. As for Ntilikina, the sample size is small, but the early returns suggest he could become a solid contributor in his own right.
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To be sure, not every aspect of Ntilikina’s game has been great so far. His biggest problem has been shooting, as he’s currently shooting 34.1 percent from the field and has more shots than points for the season. That being said, poor shooting — especially early in the season — is a common problem for young point guards, and is hardly a reason to panic. Instead, we can look the stronger aspects of his game, specifically, his passing. Ntilikina is currently averaging 4.5 assists per game, and 8.3 per 36 minutes. He has two assists for every turnover, which, while not eye-popping, suggests he’s more comfortable as a floor leader than many young players in his spot.
Particularly encouraging is how well the Knicks have played when Ntilikina has shared the floor with Porzingis. Admittedly, it’s a small sample size because Porzingis starts while Ntilikina usually works with the other bench players, but the team has generally succeeded when they’ve shared the floor. Of the Knicks’ 20 most frequently used 5-man combinations, four of them feature Ntilikina and Porzingis, and in three of those lineups, the Knicks have vastly outscored their opponents.
One particularly strong lineup has been when Ntilikina and Porzingis have shared the floor with Lance Thomas, Tim Hardaway, Jr. and Enes Kanter. That lineup has outscored opponents by an absurd 93.3 points per 100 possessions. Of course, they’ve only shared the floor for 8:02 of play, and that number would hardly hold over time, but it does speak to how much chemistry Ntilikina has had with the Knicks’ new leader.
| Net (Per 100 Poss) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Lineup | MP | PTS | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | eFG% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | ORB% | DRB | DRB% | TRB | TRB% | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF |
| 9 | C. Lee | D. McDermott | F. Ntilikina | K. O’Quinn | K. Porzingis | 8:39 | -16.7 | +5.6 | -16.7 | +.250 | -11.1 | -22.2 | -.095 | +.181 | -16.7 | -27.8 | +.200 | 0.0 | +35.7 | +27.8 | +35.7 | +13.9 | +55.6 | -5.6 | -16.7 | 0.0 | +33.3 | +2.8 |
| 10 | T. Hardaway | D. McDermott | F. Ntilikina | K. Porzingis | L. Thomas | 8:20 | +62.5 | +25.0 | 0.0 | +.286 | +25.0 | +12.5 | +.413 | +.429 | -12.5 | -12.5 | .000 | 0.0 | +3.2 | +12.5 | +3.2 | +6.3 | +12.5 | +25.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +3.1 |
| 12 | T. Hardaway | E. Kanter | F. Ntilikina | K. Porzingis | L. Thomas | 8:02 | +93.3 | +26.7 | -26.7 | +.514 | 0.0 | -20.0 | +.300 | +.529 | +40.0 | +46.7 | 0.0 | +38.9 | +46.7 | +38.9 | +23.3 | +63.6 | +20.0 | -13.3 | 0.0 | +6.7 | -13.3 | |
| 16 | T. Hardaway | D. McDermott | F. Ntilikina | K. O’Quinn | K. Porzingis | 6:32 | +34.8 | +16.2 | -1.0 | +.192 | +7.6 | +8.6 | +.167 | +.237 | -5.2 | -24.8 | +.250 | -5.7 | -5.0 | +3.8 | -5.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +1.0 | -14.3 | 0.0 | +7.6 | +6.9 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/8/2017.
Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek seems to realize Ntilikina is a fast learner, because he’s gradually seen more minutes per night since becoming part of the rotation. In Tuesday night’s win over the Hornets, he played 26 minutes compared to 22 for starter Jarrett Jack. Ntilikina also saw the floor for 24 minutes of action in Sunday’s win over the Pacers. This trend is likely to continue considering the Knicks are one of the worst teams in the league at the point guard position. In free agency, they missed out on the chance to sign a vet like George Hill or Jeff Teague as a placeholder for Ntilikina. So it was slim pickings, and they wound up with Ramon Sessions and then Jarrett Jack, who came on board after Sessions was injured.
Either of these players would have been perfectly okay to have on your team in 2012, but in 2017, both are well past their prime, and can only contribute so much. As such, it would not be surprising if Hornacek continued to give more minutes to Ntilikina, and eventually inserted him into the starting lineup. He may be raw, but he’s also probably the best point guard on the Knicks roster.
Like any teenage point guard, Ntilikina is going to take his lumps. There will be games where he shoots 1-for-8 from the field or turns the ball over eight times. That’s just what happens when someone that young has to learn the basketball position that carries the most responsibility. But there’s going to a lot of really good moments, too. There will be gorgeous pick-and-rolls with Porzingis and there will be electrifying shot-clock beating 3s that send MSG into a frenzy.
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The ride will be bumpy at times, but Ntilikina has already shown himself to be a useful NBA player. As he gains more experience, he’ll only get better, and Knicks fans can expect to have a lot of fun watching him get there.