The New York Knicks used only two big men in a 114-110 loss against the Houston Rockets, and neither of those players were Enes Kanter.

The Knicks went into Wednesday's matchup with a small ball approach to their lineup. Head coach David Fizdale's intentions were likely to slow down the reigning MVP in James Harden.

It didn't work too well. Harden ended with 61 points and 15 rebounds, in what was another ridiculous scoring outburst on the season for him. Knicks big man Noah Vonleh started and played 31 minutes at the center spot, while rookie Mitchell Robinson relieved him for 17 minutes played off the bench. Of course, that left Kanter on the outside looking in.

But it wasn't that way on Monday night, even with power forward Luke Kornet thrown into the mix. With Kornet sidelined against Houston, after stealing some playing time out of the frontcourt in the team's 127-109 loss on Monday to the Oklahoma City Thunder, it was believed that Kanter's role would expand. As it turns out, it went in the complete opposite direction, from 19 minutes to a harsh DNP just two nights later in the box score.

Kanter's name has been popping up in the trade rumors as of late, and his $18.6 million expiring contract could be packaged into a possible deal by the Feb. 7 trade deadline, per Shams Charania of The Athletic. He is averaging 14.4 points and 11 rebounds this season for New York while shooting 54.3 percent from the field and 35 percent from 3-point range.