Now into his second season, Kristaps Porzingis has a whole lot more talent around him. How will this affect his game
Coming into the 2016-17 season I was fearful. I don’t often get this way but I was scared. I was not scared in the knee-knocking sense but I was fearful of what might happen to Kristaps Porzingis now that the New York Knicks had signed some incredible talent.
Not only did they already have Carmelo Anthony, who is 29th all time on the total points scored list but they added a number of other quality players as well. Ex-Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose, the 2010-11 MVP, was added.
He has a career scoring average of 19.7 points per game and the Bulls were his team before injury.
Courtney Lee was added with averages 9.6 points per game for his career. Joakim Noah was also added who averages 9.3 points and 9.4 rebounds per game for his career.
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With these and other quality bench signings, including Brandon Jennings I felt fear. My fear for Porzingis was that his talents would fade into the background. This added talent deserves a lot of respect, especially as the Knicks added the talent to contend.
I know that it is only two games into the season but Porzingis has responded the same way that he did when people cried at him being drafted. He responded by showing the NBA that he belongs and that he is here to stay.
The Porzingis Response
In the first game, a 117-88 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Porzingis played 33 minutes, scoring 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting. He went 3-of-5 from three point land in a great display of long range shooting.
Porzingis collected seven rebounds including four offensive, as well as two blocks and a steal.
In game two of the season, New York overcame perennial Western Conference playoff contenders in the Memphis Grizzlies, beating them 111-104.
Porzingis again played incredibly well. In 36 minutes he went 7-of-11 from the field, including 1-of-4 from three, for a game-high 21 points. He also had five rebounds, two assists and one block.
This means that against two playoff-caliber teams, Porzingis is averaging 34.5 minutes, 18.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.5 steals and 1.5 blocks.
The next five games for the Knicks include a trip to Detroit where Porzingis will face the challenge of Andre Drummond and the rest of the Detroit Pistons. This is followed by the Houston Rockets in New York and the Bulls in Chicago.
The final two games of the stretch are both at home when the Knicks take on the Utah Jazz followed by the Brooklyn Nets.
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This stretch of games should set up Porzingis for the season. As he showed in his rookie year, once on a roll, he is hard to stop. Porzingis had four-game stretches three times, a nine-game stretch and a 13-game stretch where he scored 10 or more points.
My fear was that Kristaps Porzingis was going to get lost within the new New York Knicks. Fortunately, the 21 year old Latvian is not getting lost.
He is showing us why Phil Jackson thought so highly of him that he drafted him with the No. 4 overall pick in 2015.
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What Porzingis has done since then is repay that faith. He has also showed us that he is a talent that is here to stay in the NBA. Kristaps Porzingis will not get lost in the noise, he is becoming the loudest horn and I am excited to watch it.