Jahlil Okafor, the Knicks suspected, had something to prove. The third overall pick in 2015, had been out of the rotation in Philadelphia, but now seems entrenched after the trade of Nerlens Noel. Yup, probably had something to prove.
But Knicks centers Willy Hernangomez and Kyle O’Quinn felt the same way. They needed to show they could handle the heavy lifting with Knicks bigs Kristaps Porzingis and Joakim Noah on the sideline.
“Tough challenge, they go to him a lot. He was out of the rotation a while and he’s got things to prove. Trade talks and all,” O’Quinn said of Okafor.