THREE’S A CROWD
Knicks’ PG experiment getting messy
Nobody knows how much input Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek has in deciding the team’s starting point guard.
Management is on a mission to see what it has in newly acquired Emmanuel Mudiay, who has started 13 straight games since the All-Star break. It’s been an unlucky 13 with the Knicks at 3-10 and Mudiay failing to establish proper chemistry with his teammates.
Hornacek, whose future is in doubt, indicated this is a collaborative decision. He said the club is sticking with Mudiay despite Trey Burke being, by far, the most effective of their three young point guards — including rookie Frank Ntilikina.
In fact, Hornacek got his hackles up late after Wednesday’s rout by the Heat when asked if he has a yearning to see Burke start before the season is through.
“There you go with changing starting lineups,’’ Hornacek snapped. “They may, we may do that going forward. [But] a game like this isn’t on Emmanuel.”
After a poor first half during which he shot 0-for-5, Mudiay settled down in the second half while Ntilikina was a noshow all evening.
As is often the case, Burke was the most prolific, scoring 16 points, making 4-of-7 from 3-point range.
He’s a natural shotmaker, averaging 10.6 points on 51 percent shooting, while Mudiay and Ntilikina don’t possess that same flair.
Burke, the 2013 lottery pick by the Jazz who was signed out of the G-League in January, hasn’t started to date — the 25year-old playing all 26 games off the bench. Burke imagines himself ultimately as a starter.
“[Someone] asked me if it was goal of mine or I prefer the coming-off-the-
bench role,’’ Burke said. “I like both. I have experience in both. I was 20 last time I was starting in the NBA. I feel I’m a different player. I think it is a desire of mine. It’s not something I’d go to coach with and say, ‘Yo.’
“I try to let my play speak for itself. I don’t want to seem like it’s about me. That’s why I really don’t speak on it much. I like both roles. The desire is to start. As a point guard growing up, you always dreamed of running a franchise.”
While Hornacek is full of praise for Burke, he said Mudiay, shooting 36.7 percent, needs more time. That or president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry need a closer inspection after the trade-deadline deal for Mudiay, which cost them Doug McDermott, one of Hornacek’s favorites, and a 2018 second-rounder.
“You got to give him a good [look],’’ Hornacek said. “You’re not just going to have 10, 12 games and make a judgment call on the guy. We’ve seen the other guys coming off the bench. Trey continues to prove that he’s a guy who can really give us something. We’re trying to see if [Mudiay] can get used to our guys.”
After failing to land the Suns’ Elfrid Payton, the idea behind Mudiay was adding a big point guard who can slice into the lane and create off the dribble — specifically for Kristaps Porzingis. However, Porzingis and Mudiay wouldn’t pair up until mid-December at the earliest.