Frank Ntilikina has had to spend much of the season working out after the rest of the Knicks to keep himself sharp, either from the sprained knee that sidelined him for much of the first half of the season or simply from being buried at the end of the bench.
But nothing prepared him for how he spent a week recently, confined to a hotel room in Miami alone, an exercise bicycle brought in, and left to wait for clearance from the NBA’s health and safety protocols to join his teammates. There were no shots put up, no scrimmaging or coaches to work out with as he waited.