FRANK STARTING TO GET POINT
Knicks rookie Frank Ntilikina stood up to LeBron James, even — gasp! — shoved the King. He went up against fellow rookie Lonzo Ball, who has about three tons of hype on him. Ntilikina outscored Ball, 7-2, in the fourth quarter and overtime. Ntilikina improves by the hour.
But perhaps the most impressive aspect about the eighth pick in last June’s draft?
“When people ask me about him, I [say], ‘You know he’s 19?’ and they go, ‘ What?’ ” Knicks starting point guard and Ntilikina mentor Jarrett Jack, 34, said Wednesday after practice in Tarrytown.
“He just turned 19 some months ago. He won’t turn 20 until next year. And they go, ‘Oh.’ They’re kind of taken aback when I tell them that.”
More and more, the 6-foot-5, 190-pound teen is gaining the experience required to run an NBA team. Ntilikina played the final 21 minutes Tuesday of the Knicks’ 113-109 overtime victory against the Lakers.
Ntilikina, who arrived from France with a solid defensive reputation, is improving his offensive game. The shot and the overall offense need lots of work. But it’s coming. After all, Ntilikina has time. In case you haven’t heard, he’s 19.
“Definitely, more comfortable on the court. Like I’ve said every time, it’s just a process, it’s about time,” Ntilikina said. “My teammates give me a lot of confidence on the court, the coach, too. I’m just getting more comfortable and more freedom to play my game.”
And the Knicks are getting more and more confident in him too. Forget that guys who went after him in the draft (Donovan Mitchell) are lighting up the scoreboard. He comes from France, where the Knicks once dabbled and came up with Frederic Weis plus an eternity of grief. James said that Dennis Smith Jr. should have been the Knicks pick. So Ntilikina gets unfairly judged sometimes.
“Probably. That’s OK. With a guy like Frank, and I’ve seen his mentality, the more people doubt him the better he’s going to end up being,” coach Jeff Hornacek said. “He’s playing with that quiet kind of, ‘OK, that’s what you guys think, I’m going to go show you.’ It’s great to see that.”
Ntilikina is becoming known, pitching in on and off the court. With fellow rookie Damyean Dot- son, he went to dinner and visited the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center later Wednesday with kids from Africa selected by the Garden of Dreams Foundation. And he doesn’t seem to get ruffled by anything. With so many crammed into the Garden on Tuesday to see Ball, it was Ntilikina who came away with the win. Yup, he beat Ball. Ho hum. That was not his focus. He just seeks improvement
“I would say offensively, just running the team, be a leader for the team, be a point guard and do what I can do, like passing and scoring,” Ntilikina, averaging 5.8 points, 3.3 assists and 1.4 steals, said describing his role. “Obviously, it’s just getting more comfortable, and I have to keep working on it.”
And he has enough folks in his ear. And the advice is getting through. Jack talked about the strides he has seen.
“Being aggressive. [Tuesday] night, his very first shot came out no indecision, no thinking. He’s starting to play more instinctive basketball, stuff that’s coming true to him. And it’s working for him. I said, ‘I don’t want to see any of that other Frank from before, the indecisive Frank,’” Jack said. “Be aggressive. Be sure. I said if you’re going to second-guess it, you might as well not even do it.”
Message heard. Message received. And the upside is glaringly bright.
“I have to stay healthy, obviously, but I know I’m still 19, but I won’t waste time and just really think about it, too much thinking about the stress, I want to work hard every day,” Ntilikina said. “I’m 19, so I can work even more.”
Spoken like a wise, old … teenager.