Frank back, Knicks lose again

Guard returns from injury, but future with team remains cloudy

Frank Ntilikina returned and – what else is new? – the Knicks lost.

After missing 24 consecutive games with a groin injury, the Frenchman played mostly shooting guard during the 111-93 drubbing Friday by the Nuggets and was largely invisible offensively. Still, he was the only Knick with at least five minutes who didn’t have a negative plus/minus on the night. For a defensive specialist, that should count for something

“I just want to get him back on the court quite honestly feeling good about playing and try to get him into some kind of basketball rhythm before this thing is done,” David Fizdale said.

With the franchise-altering summer forthcoming, Ntilikina’s future is up in the air with the Knicks (14-59). And after Friday’s performance of five points on 1for-6 shooting in 25 minutes, he has just nine games left to leave an impression before big decisions are made.

“I just pushed through it. I know I’m not going to be 100 percent,” he said. “I know this first game is not going to be perfect in the sense of how I feel on the court. But I feel ready and we made the decision to just go and I want to play. It’s time.”

The eighth overall pick in 2017 has never had a consistent starting role, position or minutes. The executive who drafted him – Phil Jackson – was fired just weeks after the pick was made. So it hasn’t felt like a genuine commitment to Ntilikina, even though the Knicks resisted trading him to this point.

When asked recently on ESPN Radio why he allowed Jackson to draft Ntilikina before firing him, Knicks owner James Dolan let out an audible sigh. Not a ringing endorsement.

Ntilikina had just one 5on-5 practice with the G-

League team before returning Friday, partially because the Knicks are so short-handed they don't have enough bodies for a full scrimmage. Against the Nuggets, Dennis Smith Jr. (back), Noah Vonleh (ankle) and Allonzo Trier (calf ) were all inactive.

Smith's ailment seems the most serious but David Fizdale said the team has not yet considered shutting him down for the remainder of the season.

“I don't think any of us want to get to that place yet,” the coach said. “If he has a chance to heal and play I know he wants to play. I know we'd like to have him back on the court. We're just going to take it day by day and see what happens as these games pass.”

The Knicks, meanwhile, need to win at least three of their final nine games to avoid the worst record in franchise history. That was set in 2014-15 when the Knicks went 17-65 under Derek Fisher.

“Honestly, I'm not thinking about that. It's one game at a time,” Fizdale said. “And I'm just chopping away one game at a time. I don't think I have the luxury to care about that or worry about that. My thing is can I get these guys better.”

BAD DEFENSE

Kevin Knox's poor defense is a team-effort.

That was Fizdale's explanation when presented Friday with the rookie's poor defensive rating of 114.8 – the third worst in the NBA among players who've appeared in at least 60 games.

“I think it's a combination of him and our team. Overall, defensively we aren't great,” Fizdale said. “I think when you've got a bunch of young guys running around together, trying to help each other, cover for each other, you're going to see all of their warts. You're going to see a lot of - if it was just one of them running around with a vet you wouldn't see as much. So I don't know if it's fair to label him where it's all on him. I think there's enough of us that's messing up that we can spread that around.”

Still, Fizdale recognized that Knox – the ninth overall pick who leads the team in minutes (by far) – is slow reading offenses. On Friday, the Knicks were outscored by 23 points when he played.

“He still has a ways to go. It's just recognizing the situations earlier,” Fizdale said. “It's something I think is going to be really important for him. And then the basics of technique, physical strength end up helping him be a better defender.”

Offensively, Knox had 19 points but missed 10 of his 16 shots and had just one assist.