New York Knicks power forward Kristaps Porzingis will be ready for opening night, according to his doctor.
The New York Knicks are playing out the stretch run of the 2017-18 NBA season. While the Knicks were officially eliminated from the postseason in recent weeks, their playoff hopes were truly dashed in February.
On Feb. 6 against the Milwaukee Bucks, star power forward Kristaps Porzingis went up for a dunk. On his way down, Porzingis injured his knee, which ended his season. Along with it, the Knicks’ faint playoff hopes went down as well.
Porzingis ended up tearing his ACL. It was a huge blow for the budding superstar and the organization as a whole.
The Knicks had gotten off to a strong start this season behind Porzingis. He was averaging 22.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 2.4 blocks per game. Incredibly, Porzingis is still tied for fifth in the NBA, with Andre Drummond, in total blocks with 115. Porzingis was named to the All-Star game and was set to be on Team LeBron before the injury occurred.
In his third season, and first as the lead dog, Porzingis was truly beginning to blossom. He was impacting the game at both ends of the court. His size makes him a rare combination of a rim protector and go-to scorer. Despite standing 7’3″, Porzingis was knocking down 39.5 percent of his 3-point attempts.
New York Knicks
Replacing that kind of production is not an easy thing to do. Even the greatest teams struggle to replace star players. Look at the Golden State Warriors in recent games. They have battled injuries to Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green, and their win-loss record reflects it, going 3-6 in their last nine games.
Despite that tough stretch, the Warriors are still a lock for the postseason. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the Knicks.
Once Porzingis went down, it was tough enough to get victories. New York has played 21 games since Porzingis went down, going 4-17 during that stretch. Three of those victories have come within the past two weeks.
ACL injuries usually entail a lengthy rehab. ESPN New York‘s Ian Begley reported that Porzingis would be sidelined at least 10 months, which would put him on track to return in December.
It would be fair to assume that Porzingis would need some time to knock off the rust. However, Porzingis’ doctor, Carlon Colker, is extremely optimistic about Porzingis’ outlook following surgery.
Here is what he had to say to Marc Berman of the New York Post.
"“Despite the talk, ‘The sky is falling, he’ll never be the same,’ that’s a bunch of horse s–t. He’ll be better than ever. He’s going to blow people away. If you’re around people who know what they’re doing, it’s not the end of the world. It’s the end of the world if you have the wrong people around you.“… We’re bulking him up and giving him more muscle mass and strength, working on his upper body, doing a lot of hamstring work.”"
Bulking up is one thing Porzingis could definitely use. Strengthening the muscles to help support the knee is a must to avoid any setbacks or re-injuring to the ACL. Coming into the NBA, adding size and strength was one thing Porzingis needed to do to reach his potential. It is something that he has been doing well thus far.
In addition to the above quote, Colker also offered his own timetable. He believes Porzingis will be ready to play by opening night in late October. Based on when the injury occurred, and the usual timetable, that would be quite a rapid recovery by Porzingis.
Getting Porzingis back as early as possible would improve the Knicks’ outlook for the 2018-19 season. Having him in the lineup would increase their chances of making the postseason. The question is, will the Knicks want him back on the court that soon?
It makes no sense to push Porzingis and speed up his recovery timetable. KP will be only 23 years old when the season begins. New York should be taking a long-term outlook with Porzingis, not a short-term one. Pushing to have him on the court earlier and risking injury is not a smart way to conduct business.
Next: 2017-18 Week 24 NBA Power Rankings
The Knicks will surely take their time with their franchise player. It may frustrate some fans, but it is the smart move to ensure that Porzingis is 100 percent ready before taking the court.