New York Knicks: 5 goals for Kristaps Porzingis in 2017-18
By Randy Porga
4. Play at All-Star level in breakout year
Kristaps Porzingis in entering his third year and has shown improvement in his game since his first NBA start. However, the longer Carmelo Anthony remains on the team, it noticeably hinders the way Porzingis approaches the game.
While Porzingis has played at the 4-spot 75 percent of the time over his two seasons in the NBA, he averaged 14.9 attempts from the field last season shooting at an effective 43.6 percent. He is dynamic also with some smooth moves in the paint for his outstanding size and is becoming increasingly better from beyond the arc.
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As a fan it hurts to say Carmelo has never developed into anything more than a true scorer and one of the best at his style of play, but he simply does not help off the ball or on defense. Porzingis does not need much room to create a shot for himself and having more help from a forward on the court would lead to a much more productive Porzingis.
Kristaps Porzingis averaged 18.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game last season. He slightly regressed from the free throw line, hitting just 78.6 of his attempts compared to 83.8 during the 2015-16 season.
The new expectation for Porzingis is to be better than just the future leader of the Knicks; he needs to play like that leader starting this season. The challenge and second goal for his 2017-18 season should be remaining the efficient scorer he’s been so far and improving on the boards to reach an average of a double-double each night.