Emmanuel Mudiay, who turned 22 on Monday, has struggled in his last two games as the Knicks‘ starting point guard, making just two of 16 shots in losses to the Clippers and Kings. Nonetheless, head coach Jeff Hornacek plans to keep Mudiay in the starting lineup for now, per Marc Berman of The New York Post.
Mudiay was benched down the stretch on Monday in favor of Trey Burke, but the Knicks don’t intend to insert Burke – or rookie Frank Ntilikina – into the starting five. While that may change in the coming weeks, it doesn’t sound like Hornacek views it as a priority to get Ntilikina some starting experience down the stretch.
“I’m not sure it matters a whole lot,” said the Knicks’ head coach. “I think the more minutes is helpful. Just because we start someone this year at the end doesn’t mean that’s who’s starting next year. That’s meaningless. It’s the summer of work, what we see the rest of the year, how the guys go in the summer and come back the next year and what they work on. As long as we get [Ntilikina] minutes and keep getting him experiences, I think that’s good.”
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- With the Raptors holding the top spot in the Eastern Conference after overhauling their offense in the offseason, Dwane Casey is receiving some buzz for Coach of the Year. Seerat Sohi of SBNation.com describes how the franchise put its trust in Casey to remake the Raptors without a rebuild, while Lee Jenkins of SI.com delivers an in-depth profile of the veteran coach.
- The NBA announced today that Celtics guard Marcus Smart has been fined $15K for publicly criticizing the officiating following Saturday’s loss to Houston. Smart – whose comments were fairly tame as far as criticisms go – turns 24 today, making that $15K fine the strong favorite to be his worst birthday gift this year.
- While the Sixers have had a solid season, the team could use Markelle Fultz‘s playmaking and ball-handling ability, writes David Murphy of Philly.com. A team source tells Jon Johnson of 94WIP (Twitter link) that there’s still no plan for Fultz to return to the lineup anytime soon, unsurprisingly.
Shoulda waited a day to fine him
I have more faith that Andrew Bynum will play a game for the Sixers before Fultz plays again.
What! smh
No. Really this is a real concern.
Yea, saw the video of him bowling… Andrew Bynum-esque. Saw him making 3s before the hornets game, somewhat fluid shot.
“Trust the process” —Danny Ainge
No way man he’s way too young. Even if it takes 5 years to figure it out he’s still going to play again in his career. It’s his scapula that’s out of place so his arm is in the wrong position. Give him some time with physical therapy and strength training and he’ll be on the floor in due time.
Fire Colangelo.
Mudiay, bricking one shot after another towards a better draft pick.
Hello, the Nets don’t have a first round pick this year. Hello Cleveland.
Hello? The nets? What are you talking about, Mudiay plays for the Knicks…
If Lowry doesn’t run into shooting problems again, they could end up in Finals. It’s them vs. Celts.