The New York Knicks have gone through their first preseason action on Tuesday night in a loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
According to Ian Begley of ESPN, Ntilikina is expected to able to play in Sunday's game against the Nets despite dealing with another knee injury.
Article Continues BelowKnicks rookie Frank Ntilikina is optimistic that he'll be able to return from a minor knee injury in time for Sunday's game against the Nets. Ntilikina will sit out of Friday's preseason game against the Wizards due to a knee contusion he suffered on Tuesday against Brooklyn. Ntilikina bumped into teammate Enes Kanter during the game against the Nets and said his knee swelled a bit after the game. He'll stay in New York and get treatment while the team heads to Washington D.C. to play the Wizards. He says the injury is totally unrelated to the knee issue that kept him out of Summer League.
The 19-year-old has struggled with leg injuries since being selected with the eighth overall pick in this year's draft. He missed the entire Summer League due to a sore right knee just prior to the tournament beginning. His status for the preseason opener had also been in question as he was dealing with a groin injury that forced him to miss practice.
This may have the potential to turn into something that the Knicks must monitor closely as his durability could be a lingering issue. There are high aspirations from New York that he could step into a significant role in his first year as the starting point guard spot.
If Ntilkina can prove he can remain healthy, he could foreseeably become the team's primary ball handler and distributor as he has a pass-first point guard that can both get to the rim off the dribble and make plays for his teammates. In the preseason opener, he had five points on 1-of-7 shooting with three assists and two turnovers in 18 minutes played.