Jeff Hornacek wants Tim Hardaway Jr. to keep letting it fly
Tim Hardaway Jr. kept on shooting, and he kept on missing, giving Knicks fans John Starks flashbacks.
But Jeff Hornacek had no problem with Hardaway continuing to let it fly after his ghastly 1-for-14 performance in Friday night’s loss to the Bucks. He also went 0-for-9 from 3-point range.
“You’ve seen over the years many times when guys had a rough night and they hit the big one at the end,” the Knicks coach said Saturday afternoon following practice. “Tim’s one of our main guys, and we have great confidence in him. He’s done it early in the season. He’s still trying to get back from that injury. But we don’t worry about that. You’re going to have a couple of games like that. He’ll bounce back.”
Hornacek remembered quite a few games when he couldn’t throw the ball in the ocean as a player, too.
“I usually stopped after about eight [shots],” he joked. “I like the confidence in my guys. They believe that can make every shot at any time. That’s the biggest key in basketball, to have confidence to take those shots.”
Since returning on Jan. 12 from a stress reaction in his lower left leg that cost him 20 games, Hardaway had been shooting the ball relatively well, until recently. He’s 2-for-24 in his past two games, and 0-for-12 from 3-point range.
Even as the losses pile up, Hornacek isn’t planning to change how he uses rookie Frank Ntilikina, who has played well of late, notching nine points and five assists in the loss to the Bucks. While he would like to develop Ntilikina, he also wants to win games, and believes veteran Jarrett Jack is important to do so.
“So it’s a balance,” the coach said.