FIBA World Cup

New York Knicks: David Fizdale swiping plays from France national team

October 5, 2019 by Bob Konarski

New York Knicks head coach David Fizdale is stealing plays from France’s national team. Fizdale openly said that he was doing so too.

He was watching Knicks point guard Frank Ntilikina play, very well, for his home country France in the FIBA World Cup. Fizdale said that he, “Watched 90% of France’s games.” He continued speaking on Frank’s performance, “I think that’s what he needed. He needed to feel that success.”

Fizdale told New York Post Marc Berman, “I studied the heck out of him.” “He can be on the ball. He can be off the ball. He can guard multiple guys on the court” Fizdale said.

On the topic of stealing plays, Fizdale said, “I stole a couple of their sets, too. I’m a thief, stealing from the coaches.” However, when Fizdale said he was ‘stealing plays’ he was saying that he was looking at how France utilized Ntilikina and will try inject that into the Knicks system. Fizdale is trying to whatever is takes to make the New York Knicks competitive again.

Ntilikina spoke on behalf of his experience in the World Cup and said he “Learned a lot.” He sure did, as fans saw his confidence and aggressiveness get bigger and bigger each game.

It won’t be easy to implement everything that France did to help Ntilkina succeed, but there is hope. A lot of players on the Knicks will be competing for minutes. Fizdale can’t just role out the red carpet for Ntilkina since he had a good summer.

Yes, the NBA is different from the FIBA World Cup. But, it was the confidence Ntilikina’s coaches had in him that made the difference. If Fizdale is able to harness what France did for Ntilikina, the Knicks could have another gem on their hands.

New York Knicks “trying out” Frank Ntilikina is ridiculous

October 3, 2019 by Bob Konarski

According to SNY’s Ian Begley, the New York Knicks are using the beginning of training camp as a “tryout” for Frank Ntilikina. It makes sense in some aspects, but honestly, it is ridiculous.

Ntilikina is coming off a strong showing in the FIBA World Cup for his home country of France. He showed improvements with his shot, confidence and aggressiveness which were big concerns for the Knicks. His coach and teammates raved about Ntilikina’s ability and work ethic.

There were even rumblings of him being the future face of France basketball. The talent is there, but maybe not yet.

France was able to show confidence in Ntilikina throughout the World Cup, something that the Knicks have not done.

Coach David Fizdale said, “That was always tough to juggle and working him back in, getting his confidence back and stuff like that” after missing 40 games last season due to injury. “I’m really happy with the way he came in. He had a great summer and today he had a real competitive practice”, Fizdale said.

But, Ntilikina is now 100% healthy and playing off the high he received in the World Cup. He was given the opportunity to grow into a better basketball player and he did just that. However, the Knicks coaching staff are speculating if his play will translate to the NBA.

Ntilikina was playing against NBA competition, for the most part. He took a big leap forward with hitting gigantic shots to seal the game against the USA. The raw emotion Ntilikina expressed afterwards could suggest his hard work is paying off.

The Knicks need to give Ntilikina the same opportunity that France did. Ntilikina only averaged 19.5 minutes per game and he made them all count. But, the Knicks saying they are “trying out” Ntilikina is saying that they do not have the same confidence in him as France did.

The Knicks should have looked into how France got the most out of Ntilikina and build off that, apparently Fizdale has. Ntilikina was a lottery pick, 8th overall, in 2017 and at times it seems like they give up on Ntilikina. A team should not give up on a lottery pick so easily like it seems the Knicks do.

It also goes to show the lack of confidence the Knicks have in Ntilikina by not picking up his fourth-year option yet. They have until October 31st to do so or he becomes an unrestricted free-agent.

The Knicks are still going to evaluate Ntilikina. He continues to grow as a basketball and shown signs of improvement, he is only 21-years-old after all. Seeing his performance in the World Cup should have been enough to pick-up his option.

Yes, the NBA is much different as compared to the FIBA World Cup. But, Ntilikina has shown that if given the confidence and ability to work through his mistakes, he can be a vital piece to a successive team.

Yesterday, Fizdale finally talked about Ntilikina, expressing a positive outlook in him heading into the season. Ntilikina himself noticed how much confidence he gained from the World Cup. Now, build on that Fizdale.

New York Knicks: Will Ntilikina’s FIBA Play Carry Over to Next Season?

September 13, 2019 by Pete Hernandez

France knocked off the United States in the FIBA World Cup, and New York Knicks‘ guard Frank Ntilikina was a vital part of the historic upset. Will his play transfer over to the coming NBA regular season?

France was among the select few contenders worthy of a shot at dethroning Team USA this summer. Despite the United States has not a single “superstar”, many assumed the state of international basketball had surely caught up closer to the United States than in recent memory.

When France ultimately knocked the United States out of the World Cup 89-79 on Wednesday, that belief became a statement of fact. And New York Knicks’ guard Frank Nitilikinia was a vital part of making history in their upset win.

Flourishing FIBA Play

Ntilikina hasn’t gone on a scoring explosion by any means (his highest-scoring game to date was 11 points against the United States). Instead, he’s been a solid rebounder and stout defender, averaging 1.3 steals per game and averaging an 8.8 +/- through six FIBA games (fiba.basketball.com).

It has been a solid performance from Nitilikina throughout the tournament so far, and one could argue he’s been one of the few summer bright spots for the Knicks (after watching their two coveted free agents choose the team over in Brooklyn).

The question is, will Frank Nitilikina’s FIBA experience transition to the coming NBA season? Will he even get the opportunity?

Nitilikina’s Knicks future has seemingly been uncertain ever since he was taken eight overall in the 2017 NBA Draft. He’s averaged just 21.0 minutes per game and through 121 games played has started just 25 of them (ProBasketballReference). If the spare minutes didn’t speak to his uncertain future, then the Knicks’ personnel moves of the past likely do.

The Decision for 2020-2021

New York has traded for Trey Burke, Dennis Smith Jr, and this summer signed Elfrid Payton. All players who the front office hoped had brought some stability to the point guard position. But after a strong FIBA outing, will Ntilikina finally get a shot at proving himself?

It would be timely nonetheless, the Knicks must decide whether to exercise their $6.2 million option for the 2020-2021 season. Don’t forget that Ntilikina was the last draft pick of Phil Jackson, so despite his strong international play do they instead want to move in a new direction regardless?

Ahead of a season that just can’t be thrown away (we saw how that ended this past summer), the Knicks’ should look to find strengths from all possible options on the court. Fans want to see improvement and development this season, not another tank job. All roster options should be examined.

That includes Frank Ntilikina running the point, and this season may be different than the past. After a strong performance on an international stage, that just might be the x-factor in Ntilikina’s development. The hope is that he continues that next step in a Knicks jersey, as opposed to somewhere else.

New York Knicks: Ntilikina hits daggers against USA

September 11, 2019 by Bob Konarski

New York Knicks point guard, Frank Ntilikina, hit the biggest shots of his life against the USA this morning. France defeated USA 89-79 in the quarterfinals of the FIBA World Cup.

While we watch and cheer for the USA, Knicks fans also want to see Ntilkina succeed. Ntilikina ended up with 11 points on 5/9 shooting from the floor, 56%. He added 3 assists and a steal.

However, the confidence and aggressiveness Ntilikina displayed down the stretch helped propel France over USA.

Ntilikina did not have a god first half and usually he would not get another chance to redeem, if this was the Knicks. However, the overwhelming support and positive remarks from his coach and teammates had faith in him.

Ntilikina had a strong, catch and drive with France down 5 points. This is what Knicks fans want to see out of him. He appears to be playing with all the confidence in the world with France and improving on his aggressiveness.

With France down 3, Ntilikina hit a gigantic 3 for France tying the game at 76. As you can see, the confidence was pouring out of Ntilikina, as he took a few dribbles and sunk the contested shot.

As if those first few were not enough, Ntilikina then even hit an even bigger 3 for his home country. Ntilikina was feeling it since he nailed a contested step back 3 to basically seal the game for France.

This is exactly what fans want to see out of Ntilikina. This is the confidence boost that he needs to turn himself into a valuable piece for the Knicks future. Everyone knows what Frank could be and hopefully this is the start of that.

In the FIBA World Cup, Ntilikina is showing that if he is given support, he can produce for his team. All we can say is, hopefully coach David Fizdale was watching this game and begins to have the confidence in Ntilikina that his home country coach and teammates already have.

New York Knicks: The state of Frank Ntilikina

September 5, 2019 by Bob Konarski

Frank Ntilikina has been a big topic of conversation for the New York Knicks. He has been in-between positions his entire NBA career and has not given a real chance.

Recently, Ntilikina has participating in the FIBA World Cup basketball tournament for his home country, France. He has received praise for his ‘skill-set’ from his coach and teammates.

In group play, Ntilikina has averaged 9.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. These numbers are not stellar, but it is the type of consistency and start that Ntilikina needs.

He appears to be very comfortable in theFrance system. Their head coach, Vincent Collet, has complimented Ntilikna on his aggressiveness and avoiding hesitation. Collet believes in Ntilikina’s ability and it appears to be paying dividends as he trends upward. That is what the Knicks and David Fizdale need to do.

In France’s game against Jordan, Ntilkina appeared to be very confident in his shot. That is something that all Knicks fan want him to improve, along with his aggressiveness. His stroke looked smooth and there was no hesitation to shoot when getting the ball. Ntilikina was also continues to make it difficult for his opponents with his defense.

The confidence, aggressiveness and, overall, growth that Ntilkina is receiving in the FIBA World Cup is something that the Knicks can build on. The Knicks have had trouble finding how he fits in their system. Fizdale needs to take a look at his play throughout the tournament and coach him towards his strengths.

Every other point guard that has been in the Knicks system the last few seasons has got a legitimate shot. Why not Ntilikina now? He is still growing, developing, getting stronger and trying to become the NBA player that his France coach and teammates currently see.

Through the World Cup, Ntilikina needs to use the confidence he is gaining in his game towards a shot at becoming a vital role player for the Knicks. As it seems now, all of the work he has been putting forth on his game has been paying off.

The Knicks only have until this Halloween to pick up his $6.2 million option for next season for he becomes a unrestricted free-agent.

New York Knicks players in FIBA World Cup

July 19, 2019 by Bob Konarski

The New York Knicks will have some participants in the upcoming FIBA basketball World Cup this August to September.

Third year guard Frank Ntilikina will participant for the France national team and RJ Barrett should play for Canada.

Both players are projected to start for their national teams. This will be good for both of these players to get more play in before the NBA season starts.

It will especially good for the development of both players.

Barrett struggled in his first couple games in the Vegas summer league, but showed promise down the stretch, averaging a double-double. However, his shooting percentage was very sub-par.

Ntilikina continues to work this off-season and appears to have gotten taller and has improved his dribbling and shot. While all the videos of Ntilikina look great, fans, especially myself, need to see Frank perform in the game.

Fans are very happy that the Knicks did not trade Ntilikina. Why trade Ntilikina for a second round pick when he continues to put the work towards getting better. It was a wise decision to keep Ntilikina.

Playing in FIBA basketball World Cup is going to be a positive for these two young developing Knicks. Fans have very high hopes for Barrett and are praying Ntilikina can finally break through and perform like we all envision.