New York Knicks: Frank Ntilikina shows offensive growth

Rookie point guard Frank Ntilikina is beginning to show confidence and offensive growth for the scrappy New York Knicks.

Only a few days left until Christmas and already the New York Knicks are receiving gifts aplenty from top draft pick Frank Ntilikina. The 19-year-old rookie is quickly becoming one of the team’s better defenders and has shown flashes of offensive brilliance in the clutch when given the opportunity.

Among the many prospects that were in this past summer’s lottery, Ntilinka was highly rated by many scouts for his defensive tenacity and ambition to stop the offensive player. His unique seven-foot wingspan, mixed in with a strong desire to compete on the defensive end, has been a nice change of pace off the bench for the Knicks late in games.

At 6’5″ and a little over 170 pounds, Ntilikina towers over smaller defenders when handling the basketball. He’s no Magic Johnson or young Penny Hardaway, but his length mixed in with ball-handling and evolving passing skills are proving to be a potent combination. A stand-out moment offensively this season took place on Tuesday in a nationally televised matchup with Lonzo Ball and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Ntilinka showed major confidence and control of the offense against Ball, pouring in 13 points and dishing out five assists while forcing the highly touted No. 2 pick to focus more on defense. Head coach Jeff Hornacek praised his rookie point guard after the game, expressing his continued satisfaction of the Knicks selecting him with the eighth pick back in June.

"“Lonzo got it going by really pushing the ball and we felt Frank is really the same size as Lonzo and kind of takes pride in his defense that he’d have a good chance of maybe slowing him down a little bit and I think that’s what happened, Frank, he has the mentality of a basketball player. That’s why he’s going to be a great player in this league.“Again, he doesn’t shy from anything. He likes those challenges. He was ready to go. When we were lining up for the [national] anthem, I looked over at Frank and said ‘Are you ready to go?’ He said, ‘I’m ready, are you ready coach?’ You could tell he was ready.”"

The other factor of Ntilikina’s offensive growth has been his smart decision-making distributing the ball to open players. As the point guard and essentially floor general on the court, he continues to show progress in breaking down the defense and setting up teammates with clutch assists.

During the Knicks’ most recent victory against the Brooklyn Nets, Ntilinka shined down the stretch keeping teammates involved. His brilliant set-up pass to Lance Thomas that resulted in a 3-pointer to help decide the game propelled New York to its second road win of the season.

The young France native is very aware of his growing confidence lately to take more shots, as he explained recently to the New York Post.

"“Sometimes, I have a tendency to hesitate on my shot. Now I feel more comfortable while getting a lot of reps. Hitting shots in the real game gives me confidence. I just need to keep working, keep getting reps, keep taking those shots, and keep avoiding all that thinking.”"

The lack of hesitation moving forward for Ntilinka will be key in not only his development but the Knicks’ effectiveness late in the season.

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New York is showing signs of making a serious run for a playoff spot early, so it’s a much-needed component as competition continues to toughen up.