Porzingis Mania Is Running Wild

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail
Facebooktwittergoogle_plus

This past summer at the 2015 NBA Draft, I like many people questioned the decision by the New York Knicks to draft power forward Kristaps Porzingis. The Knicks came into the NBA Draft owning the fourth overall pick, and after winning just 17 games in the previous NBA season, New York was in need of an impact player. When Porzingis walked across the stage at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York to shake the hand of NBA commissioner Adam Silver, he was greeted loudly by a chorus of boos. It is very difficult for a fan of the Knicks to be optimistic about this team being that they have seen the front office in New York miss so many times in the NBA Draft as this is an organization that is still clinging to their last NBA Championship that was won back in 1973 along with the fact that they call New York City home.

When Porzingis was drafted, he gave fans of the Knicks flashbacks of Frederic Weis whom the team drafted in 1999. But Knicks team president Phil Jackson preached patience on Porzingis as he was only 19-years of age at the time that he was drafted while assistant coach Kurt Rambis compared him to a younger version of Dallas Mavericks power forward Dirk Nowitzki. But make no mistake about it that Porzingis is making the most of his opportunity with the Knicks.

During the NBA’s Summer League in Las Vegas, Porzingis averaged 10.5 points and 3.2 rebounds per game as the slender 7’3″ native Latvian was beginning to get his feet wet against NBA-type talent. But as usual in the Big Apple, there were still skeptics about the ability of Porzingis to get it done when the bright lights of the NBA regular season were on.

But in Porzingis’ first regular season game in the NBA, he went for 16 points and 5 rebounds as the Knicks smoked the Milwaukee Bucks 122-97. And five days later Porzingis earned his first career double-double when he went for 13 points and 14 rebounds in a 94-84 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. As the season has gone along, Porzingis has continued to improve which was evident by him dropping 29 points and 11 rebounds on the Charlotte Hornets on November 17, 24 points and 14 rebounds versus the Houston Rockets on November 21, and 20 points and 13 rebounds against the Miami Heat on November 23.

For the season, Porzingis is averaging 13.0 points per game along with leading the Knicks in rebounds (8.1) and blocks (2.1) as he is a big reason why the Knicks have nearly eclipsed their win total from last season while they are also thinking about making the postseason in the spring.

Porzingis’ game is perfect for the triangle offense that the Knicks implement under Jackson and current head coach Derek Fisher. Some folks might call it the “European-style” of basketball that Porzingis plays, but you can see that he is indeed a student of the game. The triangle offense is a system that is predicated off of ball movement and Porzingis is a solid passer while also being able to play in the post as he is more of a point forward. And for the first time in a long time, the Knicks appear to have a franchise cornerstone as Porzingis appears to be the team’s best draft pick since Patrick Ewing in 1985.

Porzingis has captivated the Knicks fan base as his merchandise has been selling like hotcakes due to the fact that he has given them hope. We saw this a few years ago with the Knicks during the 15 minutes of fame in regards to “Linsanity” as the fans rallied around point guard Jeremy Lin, but Porzingis appears to be the real deal.

Porzingis is also on track to be the NBA Rookie of the Year and he would become the first Knicks player since Ewing in 1986 to win the award. Small forward Carmelo Anthony might be the current star of the Knicks, but Porzingis is the building block for the organization and he has given Jackson some options. Porzingis has a team friendly rookie deal that will run through 2019 as Jackson will continue looking to add more players who will help to transform the Knicks into legitimate title contenders. And although that Anthony is the Knicks leading scorer at 21.8 points per game this season, it is wishful thinking that Jackson could move his contract due to the fact that he is 31-years old with a bad knee. After this season, the Knicks will still owe Anthony nearly $80 million through 2019 when his contract expires and between now and then it could become dead weight.

But Porzingis’ ability to pass, score, and rebound is making him into a star in New York City and around the NBA as his game should be attractive to pending free agents as far as potentially joining the Knicks. Porzingis has also shown that he is not afraid of the spotlight as he wanted to play for the Knicks and he echoed that to the team before they drafted him last summer which is a welcoming sight due to the fact that many players cannot handle the pressure that comes with playing in New York City.

There is plenty that still has to be written in the book of Porzingis, but the first chapter has captivated basketball fans in the Big Apple while he is making Jackson look like a genius while most of us doubted his ability to get things done in the front office.

Source: Basketball-reference.com

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail
Facebooktwittergoogle_plus
By | 2015-12-23T19:40:45+00:00 December 23rd, 2015|Categories: National Basketball Association|Tags: , , |0 Comments

About the Author:

Leave A Comment