Knicks' Priorities Could Show In First Game Post-All-Star
Exiting the "halfway" point of the season, the Knicks seemingly have many more questions than answers right now.
What are rotations going to look like to end the season? Will the veteran players continue getting minutes over their younger cohorts? Who will start over the final stretch of games? Are wins still important, or is the goal — seven games out of the playoffs with only 27 games remaining — more to develop young players the rest of the way out?
Unfortunately, most of that is still going to have to bear itself out on the court, with not much in the way of answers from Mike Miller prior to tonight's home tilt against the Pacers.
“I talk to Scott [Perry] every day, we talk about personnel, we talk about player development, we talk about everything every day," Miller said. "And we are in agreement as we go through this that we are high-level trying to develop players. And as we do that, the approach that we’re taking is their minutes are quality minutes, they’re bringing value to the team when they’re out there. We think that’s helping them develop and moving them move forward."
Despite a number of veteran players starting over and getting more minutes than the younger Knicks on the roster of late, Miller pushed back and suggested that development isn't necessarily a "right or wrong" sort of proposition.
"We’re looking at development in a lot of different ways, and not just saying it’s ‘You need 25 minutes a game to develop,'" Miller said. "I think there’s more to it, there’s more ways we can help these guys grow than doing that. And they’re getting experience, and they’re getting opportunities, and they’re learning, and we’re seeing growth.”
Frank Ntilikina will get a chance at some extra development tonight, presumably, drawing the start with Elfrid Payton out with a sore ankle after the break. Miller had nothing but praise for tonight's starting point guard prior to the game.
“I think he’s done a great job of running the team," Miller said of Ntilikina. "I think he has a really good command of what we’re trying to do offensively. I think he has a really good feel for who he’s playing with, and he’s helped them. I think his assist opportunities have increased. A lot of it depends on who he’s played with — he’s played with Mitchell a lot, he’s done a really good job with Mitchell setting him up.”
Elsewhere, Moe Harkless all but confirmed that rumors of a potential buyout won't be coming to fruition, and he'll be a Knick the rest of the 2019-20 campaign. He simply stated, "Yeah, I'll be here the rest of the year."
Unfortunately, there's not much more to talk about prior to the game. What happens on the floor of Madison Square Garden tonight (or what doesn't, if things largely remain the same minus Payton) could set the tone for the stretch run.
