Posted on January 12, 2021 at 4:17 p.m.
Aurélie SACCHELLI
New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau has indicated his French point guard Frank Ntilikina will be out for at least another week.
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Frank Ntilikina will have to be patient. The French leader of the New York Knicks (22) will indeed be absent for another week, his coach Tom Thibodeau said. Hit in the right knee, the former Strasbourg has not played since December 29, and will therefore still miss at least the games against Brooklyn on Wednesday, in Cleveland on Friday and in Boston on Sunday before being re-evaluated and perhaps get the medical green light for his return to the floor. When he returns, the French international (15 caps, 101 points, 39 assists) will not only have to get back in shape, but also find a place in the team., which will not be easy, because Tom Thibodeau seems to want to rely on Elfrid Payton and Immanuel Quickley in the lead.
4.5 average points for Ntilikina
In the four games he played at the start of the season, Frank Ntilikina only played 10.5 minutes on average, for 4.5 points, 1 rebound and 0.8 assists. His best game was in the beautiful victory against Milwaukee, with 12 points in 19 minutes. Since the Frenchman is absent, the Knicks have won three games and lost four, the last to date against Charlotte (109-88). The Big Apple franchise is in eleventh place in the Eastern Conference (5v-6d). A place more or less in line with expectations, the specialists not expecting a qualification from the Knicks for the play-offs this season, even if Tom Thibodeau brought his defensive paw. In any case, with this new absence of Frank Ntilikina, no French was present this night on the NBA floors, for the second time in three days, and this is a fairly rare fact in the regular season for several years.
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