Frank Ntilikina is quite emblematic of where New York Knicks fans are at right now.

When he was benched for all but 18 seconds in the team's home-opener loss to the Boston Celtics last Saturday, he was still cheered. Then, with Dennis Smith Jr. away from the team due to the passing of his stepmother, Ntilikina's minutes in Monday's home win over the Chicago Bulls produced zero points of his own, but his tremendous defense certainly helped the Knicks in their first victory of the early season.

The Madison Square Garden fans vivaciously cheered the 21-year-old French guard when he was plastered to the bench, and they cheered even when he received minutes but couldn't hit a bucket—because Knicks fans need to find something to cheer for.

While Smith Jr.'s status is currently up in the air for Wednesday's road game against the Orlando Magic, what is known, however, is sixth-year veteran Elfrid Payton, signed in the offseason as a free agent by New York, will miss the matchup against his former team, having a bothered hamstring flare up during Monday's contest.

With Payton and possibly Smith out on Wednesday, Ntilikina is in a splendid opportunity to reap the benefits of playing time, something head coach David Fizdale has yet to see fit for the third-year guard in the beginning of the 2019-20 season, dropping him in the depth chart behind the aforementioned floor generals and even behind rookie RJ Barrett at times.

On Wednesday, tough, Ntilikina and Barrett, who started the team's season-opening loss to the San Antonio Spurs at lead guard, will essentially be the Knicks' only primary ball-handers in the backcourt, along with the potential of second-year undrafted free agent Allonzo Trier, who received the dreaded “DNP-CD” instead of Ntilikina on Monday.

What has often occurred for Ntilikina in the scattered moments through two-plus professional seasons in New York he has been given these opportunities is a short leash from his head coach. With Ntilikina always looking behind his shoulder and fearing a quick boot for his performance, the temperamental French import has yet to settle into a definitive role with the ‘Bockers.

After Monday's win and 0-for-6 shooting performance, though, it appears Fizdale is growing more willing to extend a longer rope for the young guard to learn on the job as the Knicks' point guard.

“It didn't matter,” Fizdale told the media after yesterday's victory, per SNY's Ian Begley, regarding Ntilikina's cold shooting. “His minutes were fantastic. He guarded. He set the tone defensively. He made some nice plays to set people up. He got us organized. The shots will fall for him. The thing I'm proud of is how he kept himself ready, like I knew he was.

“Every day he wasn't playing, he was in the gym getting a sweat going. ‘Just let me know coach, I'm ready when you need me.' I was really proud of his effort,” Fizdale added.

With the Magic on tap for Wednesday and Payton and Smith's collective status unknown, Ntilikina finally has a graspable opportunity to help his team win while exploring his own game on the hardwood, provided he offers his usual stout defense and can competently set up the Knicks' offense alongside Barrett in the backcourt.