Nice to see you again, Frank Nitlina.
Tom Thibodo made one start in his 10-man rotation, with guard guard Elfried Peyton missing his first game of the season against the Kings on Thursday with a hamstring injury.
Instead of going back to Austin River, Thibodo made a surprise and tapped poor French point guard, who has only had bad luck this season.
In her first appearance since December 29, Ntilikina did not look harsh at all. He made three steals, scored seven points and was action-17 in 23:35 minutes as the Knicks crushed the Kings 140-121 at Giddy Gardens.
“His defense was superb,” said Tom Thibodo.
Nitilina later received a voice after being trapped in a hotel room for a week. He was actually in Miami – following the COVID-19 contact tracing protocol. This was followed by a sprained knee, which cost three weeks.
“It was a long stretch,” ‘said Naik and his 2017 lottery pick, the longest-lived. “There was great joy and inspiration to do more.”
Wearing a red “Vale” hat, his relief abounded. Ntilikina will be a restricted free agent and his future is unclear.
“When you come back from a long stretch, with [Thibodeau] Ntilikina said, “I’ll be more comfortable on the court.” He said, “I was very happy to be able to compete in court with my teammates. I was really happy, so I had a lot of energy. I definitely liked it. ”
In her highlight play, Ntilikina snatched D’Aron Fox, led the fast break and gave a pass to Emmanuel Quickly for a 3-pointer. Depending on Peyton’s position, Ntilikina-Quickley tandem may now be a thing.
Rivers was the only player who did not play on Thursday – not even in garbage time and he hopes to trade.
“It was the matchup,” Thibodo said. “I wanted to take a look at Frank. We have great faith in everyone on the roster. This was Frank’s chance, he went in and took advantage of it and played well. He was brilliant. ”
The only down note of the evening was clear evidence rogue Tyres Haliburton is going to turn into a special point guard.
The Knicks had a chance to draft Halibutan with the No. 8 pick in the November draft, but Obi went through that for Toppin.
“He’s been very good to them,” Thibodo said. “Very talented, talented. Plays multiple positions, can shoot the ball. Good measurement Can be found in paint. It has been a great season for him. ”
After scoring 16 points against the Knucks in January, Halibutton scored 17 points on Thursday with four assassins, four steals and four rebels. Toppin was a nonfactor in 17 minutes in addition to a fast breaking sting in the late sky. She finished with three points.
Leave a Reply