The Jarrett Jack era appears over. But the more important development will be who takes over at point guard – and for how long.
Jeff Hornacek reiterated following Wednesday night’s debacle defeat that he plans to feature the younger players after the All-Star break, specifically point guards Frank Ntilikina, Emmanuel Mudiay and Trey Burke. The hope is to set a new rotation during the practices next week. It’s an organizational decision that also symbolizes a concession to another playoff-less campaign.
“It’s probably all three of those young guys (playing more) — Frank, Emmanuel and Trey — and we’ll slide a couple of them in the two-guard spot,” the coach said. “Whether it’s Trey and Emmanuel or some combination of those guys – Emmanuel and Frank, as well.”
For Hornacek, this has to feel like a cruel death march. It’s hard to envision a scenario where he returns next season, but he’s still in charge of setting up dominos for the next head coach. The ensuing losses – and there will be plenty — go on Hornacek’s record.
He’s also stuck with five guards — including Tim Hardaway Jr. and Courtney Lee — and only 48 minutes of playing time. Apparently one of the goals is to earmark time for Ntilikina at point guard, rather than at shooting guard where he has played for long stretches next to Mudiay and Burke.
The math gets real fuzzy if Lee is maintaining his 30-plus minutes per game, and Hornacek hinted that sitting the 32-year-old could also be part of this organizational youth movement. Either way, it’ll be a competition for playing time in the backcourt.
“We don’t want (Ntilikina) to always be off the ball, either,” Hornacek said. “We want to play him on the ball. So that he continues to get that taste of the point guard position.”
The franchise could use some stability after nine seasons with six different players starting the majority of games at point guard. It’s been an underwhelming revolving door: Jack, Derrick Rose, Shane Larkin, Raymond Felton (for two seasons), Jeremy Lin, Felton (again) and Chris Duhon.
That’s also why Phil Jackson and Steve Mills drafted Ntilikina eighth overall, the highest point guard selection by the Knicks since Micheal Ray Richardson 40 years ago. Jack filled in admirably for nearly three-quarters of the season, but he was always just a stopgap.
Ntilikina would’ve probably been starting by now if he hadn’t hit a wall in January. Instead of committing to the 19-year-old to build up his confidence during his rough stretch, the Knicks acquired two young players — Burke and Mudiay — to fill the position they drafted Ntilikina to tackle. Hornacek rode Jack to the bitter end, playing the veteran for the final five minutes of Wednesday’s loss to the Wizards with Mudiay and Ntilikina on the bench.
Hornacek said Jack was playing well and Ntilikina – who logged just 11 minutes – couldn’t handle guarding Washington’s shooting guard.
“Chasing Jodie Meeks, that’s something he’s probably not used to doing,” Hornacek said. “Jodie Meeks is a veteran guy in this league who’s come off those screens for years and made shots. We kind of went back with the veteran guys who have seen that and have covered it.”
Washington’s Bradley Beal, meanwhile, became the third guard in four days to absolutely torch the Knicks — joining Indiana’s Victor Oladipo and Philly’s TJ McConnell. Even Washington’s Tomas Satoransk had a field day against New York’s backcourt.
After a strong Knicks debut together on Sunday at Indy, Mudiay has struggled and Ntilikina has looked uncomfortable. Burke, a former lottery pick on his third team in three years, has largely been out of the rotation since Mudiay’s arrival. The Knicks, losers of eight straight, will have about a week to figure this all out before Thursday’s game against the Magic.
“When we come back (from All-Star break), we’ve got a couple days of practice and we’re going to take a look at a few things,” Hornacek said.
