Frank Ntilikina finally took part in what the Knicks described as a more active workout on Friday, albeit without fully returning to practice.
The second-year guard will be reevaluated by the team’s medical staff on Saturday, but Ntilikina will miss his 18th consecutive game — when the Knicks face the Kings on Saturday — since he suffered a groin injury on Jan. 27.
“Like I’ve said, I’m just taking it one day at a time with the trainers, but they are starting to amp up his workouts a little more,” coach David Fizdale said after practice. “So that’s been good news for me.”
Fizdale also insisted he believes Ntilikina — the eighth overall pick in the 2017 draft — fits into the team’s plans for the future, even if it’s not ultimately at the point-guard position.
“I’ve said it from the beginning, Frank is such a multi-talented, skilled guy that I can use him in so many different areas, whether on the ball or off the ball,” Fizdale said. “I see him as a top-rated defender, a guy who will be able to take out different people on the other team.
“And again, I’m not force-feeding Frank into any slot. What I want him to do is be comfortable and consistent with his playmaking, and comfortable and consistent with his shot, and eventually start developing who he’s gonna be in this league permanently. But I think who he is ultimately is a guy you can put out there with anybody.”
Mario Hezonja, who has missed the past eight games with a leg injury, returned to practice and has been listed as questionable for Saturday’s game. DeAndre Jordan also practiced after returning from a five-game injury absence with 17 points and 14 rebounds in 25 minutes in Wednesday’s loss in Phoenix.
Fizdale on guard Damyean Dotson, who has averaged 14.9 points over his past nine games: “I would say out of all the young guys, he’s been the most consistent from start to finish. He’s been a guy that’s been steady no matter if I started him or brought him off the bench.
“Even early on when he wasn’t playing and I would throw him in late-game without even playing the whole game, he would come in and play really well. So he’s really been a pleasant surprise with his growth and his consistency. And he’s still got a big, big window of room to grow.”
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