2. Frank Ntilikina shows improvement
Second-year players draw a lot of attention in the Summer League. People want to see what they have been working on and the improvements they have made. For the Knicks, the player with arguably the most eyes on them this summer was last year’s first round pick, Frank Ntilikina.
Ntilikina is already an outstanding defender. His size and length provide him the ability to defend three positions. He showcased that throughout his rookie season and showed it off in the Summer League against some wide-eyed youngsters. What people wanted to see was his offense.
Last season, Ntilikina looked very hesitant running the offense. He wasn’t aggressive looking for his shot either, making people believe the Knicks could be shifting him to shooting guard permanently. After the first game of the Summer League, that looked to be the case again.
Ntilikina showed some hesitancy once again on offense as the lead guard. He wasn’t attacking the basket much, shooting 2-of-7 from the field with five assists. Ntilikina must have read everything being said about him, because he came out in Game 2 looking like a totally different player.
He was super aggressive, attacking the rim and even showing off some post up moves. The same advantages his size provides him defensively, he used on offense as well. He shot 7-of-14 from the field for 17 points, adding six assists with only one turnover.
Ntilikina is already a useful player given his defensive ability. If he is able to grow offensively, he will become a dangerous two-way player and integral part of the Knicks’ core going forward.