ONCE AND FOR BALL
For once, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau didn’t want to make too much of back-to-back losses.
Taking the top two teams in the Eastern Conference — the Nets and 76ers — to the final possession is not panic-worthy.
However, the point-guard situation is panic-worthy — not just for the present but for the future. The Knicks are looking to make a move at the March 25 NBA trade deadline for an upgrade — preferably for backcourt help.
Though Rockets combo guard Victor Oladipo is available, Pelicans pass-first point guard Lonzo Ball is higher on Leon Rose’s list.
The Pelicans, however, have not tipped their hands on whether they’re ready to move their ever-improving playmaker, even though Ball will be a restricted free agent this summer after his rookie contract expires.
New Orleans passed on giving Ball a rookie contract extension at the December deadline. Ball will be seeking big bucks this summer — and Pelicans ownership historically is afraid of luxury-tax implications.
ESPN’s cap guru, Bobby Marks, told The Post he doubts the Pelicans would match an offer sheet that starts higher than $18 million. The maximum starting number is $28 million.
The Post has learned the Knicks, with plenty of cap room, would be heavily on Ball’s radar as a restricted free agent.
It’s no surprise Ball would consider the Knicks an attractive destination. His father, LaVar Ball, wanted the Knicks to find a way to draft his pointguard son, LaMelo, the favorite for Rookie of the Year who also wound up in a smallish market with Charlotte.
The Knicks could possibly find expendable point-guard types from the Hornets now that LaMelo is taking over. Terry Rozier is playing off the ball now to accommodate the rookie star. Devonte’ Graham, meanwhile, has moved to the bench and will be a free agent this summer.
The Knicks’ point-guard situation is in a bad way. In their past two losses, Thibodeau was forced to start Immanuel Quickley there — something he’d been reluctant to do because he loves the rookie on the second unit.
Frank Ntilikina, elevated to backup point guard, is unable to score at this moment. And that’s not hyperbole.
Out of the All-Star break, the Frenchman put up four straight goose eggs on the Knicks’ 1-3 road trip, shooting 0-for-13 in 53 total minutes.
Yet Ntilikina is getting court time because his long-armed defense is disruptive — even if he fouled out against the Nets in 16 minutes.
Ntilikina also committed only one turnover in the four games and was a team-high plus-4 at Philadelphia. At the trade deadline, he could be shopped as the prototype defensive specialist.
“We’ve got a lot of confidence in him,” Thibodeau said.
But for a team scrambling to score, Ntilikina has lost his offensive mojo at the wrong time, especially after the 6-foot-5 guard entered the All-Star break having made six straight 3-pointers.
The tiff between Austin Rivers and Thibodeau over playing time has also come at a terrible time. Since the break, Rivers, who is expecting a baby with his fiancée, has been away from the Knicks for “personal reasons.”
In addition, starting point guard Elfrid Payton, weaving a serviceable season, has missed seven of the past nine games with a strained hamstring.
Derrick Rose has been out seven straight games because of COVID-19 issues — with Thibodeau saying Tuesday that he’s “feeling a a lot better.” But the coach had no date for his return. NBA sources said physicians analyze each COVID-19 situation case-by-case.
It’s not all Quickley’s and Ntilikina’s fault the Knicks couldn’t get to 100 points against the 76ers on Tuesday, but the duo combined for just four assists. It has put unnecessary playmaking chores on Julius Randle and swingman Alec Burks.
When the Knicks return to the Garden on Thursday to face the Magic, Rose, Payton and Rivers are not good bets to be back.
The Knicks will need contributions up front from more than just Randle. Nerlens Noel, starting at center for injured Mitchell Robinson, is being exposed on offense.
And the regression of rookie power forward Obi Toppin is not helping matters.
Toppin was particularly inept at Philadelphia — making a blooper play as he mistimed a dunk attempt, missing it badly while he fell off balance. He was held scoreless in seven minutes.
On the bright side, the Knicks are playing meaningful games after the All-Star break for the first time since 2014 and threw scares into the Nets and Sixers.