Porzingis thread #4: The KP era is upon us

[ChaosHamster]

Where are those moves?

[Johnny Firpo]

He's gonna be okay, it's just a mini slump, no need to over analyze it.

[thebuzzardman]

Instead of his ankle betraying his entire season, it's his elbow. He'll play through it and never look as good as he did the first 14 games.

He's like the modern Bernard King/what if player, except he mostly stays on the court.

We'll always have the start of this season though, where we can all say "You should have seen it, he looked like a 30 ppg scorer, but then all the other teams threw him around, he was ultimately too skinny to take it and was only "ok" the rest of the year"

So far, 3/3 in years of KP's career where he starts off really really well, gets dinged up and goes from "really good/excellent" to "good"

[ChaosHamster]

Instead of his ankle betraying his entire season, it's his elbow. He'll play through it and never look as good as he did the first 14 games.

He's like the modern Bernard King/what if player, except he mostly stays on the court.

We'll always have the start of this season though, where we can all say "You should have seen it, he looked like a 30 ppg scorer, but then all the other teams threw him around, he was ultimately too skinny to take it and was only "ok" the rest of the year"

So far, 3/3 in years of KP's career where he starts off really really well, gets dinged up and goes from "really good/excellent" to "good"

Nah, we can't know if hes is really injured, or its just a natural slump that happens to pretty much every scorer who shoots mostly mid-range shots. There are days when they are just not falling.

Conditioning shouldn't also be a serious issue down the road. He will have next summer completely for himself. (without playing for national team). His body will get naturally stronger, plus NBA training should get his conditioning ready for upcoming years. (if it isn't ready this year )

Yeah, nagging injuries is a concern, but again, its hard to say if he is really playing half injured, how serious it is, how much its bothering him, when its started? He was talking about his elbow before Kings game, and then he dropped 34 on them in 27 minutes.

[ChilledAlex]

He's gonna be okay, it's just a mini slump, no need to over analyze it.

Yeah but he looks like the worst player on the field at times. That should never happen ever. Completely lost on defense and 20% volume shooter on offense

[Wolfgang630]

Man why don't they just come out and say what problems he has instead of dancing around this ****. It's not a game. They need to worry about the long term not the short term.

[Johnny Firpo]

Instead of his ankle betraying his entire season, it's his elbow. He'll play through it and never look as good as he did the first 14 games.

He's like the modern Bernard King/what if player, except he mostly stays on the court.

We'll always have the start of this season though, where we can all say "You should have seen it, he looked like a 30 ppg scorer, but then all the other teams threw him around, he was ultimately too skinny to take it and was only "ok" the rest of the year"

So far, 3/3 in years of KP's career where he starts off really really well, gets dinged up and goes from "really good/excellent" to "good"

Wow, you are a ray of sunshine, aren't you? Why don't you retire him already, while you are at it?

[MartinsLusis]

Honestly, I think that we don't see all the small details. I don't think it's his elbow. The teams have studied his tapes non-stop and may have figured out how to slow him down by not letting him cut to the ball, not allowing him to get into the desired positions etc. And that could frustrate him.

Also, refs allow defenders to get too much into his grill, he simply has no room to shoot.

I fully expect KP to make an adjustment just like the defenses did and get back into rythm in a few games time.

What's more worrying is that he seems tired already. Maybe it's frustration, maybe it's stamina. Who knows...

[vaff87]

From Raptors board

Knicks be like:

Spoiler:

Nah. That was only a joke. I saw that picture before, and wanted to fit it into this situation. Wasn’t meant as a shot at Knicks fans or Porzingis.

[MartinsLusis]

And one more thing which was very evident last night - Jarret Jack reverted to what Sessions was doing the first 3 games. Instead of making sure KP gets into the rhythm early on, he was missing him on good opportunities and taking the shots himself even though he struggled shooting last 2 games and it was key to rebuild his confidence by giving him good looks early. Maybe I'm wrong but if I was the Knicks PG, I would definitely look to set up KP early on after the previous games because Knicks success is very dependant on him right now.

Then Frank came in and found KP on a perfect shooting opportunity but it was already too late as KP was 0/6 at that point.

[thebuzzardman]

Instead of his ankle betraying his entire season, it's his elbow. He'll play through it and never look as good as he did the first 14 games.

He's like the modern Bernard King/what if player, except he mostly stays on the court.

We'll always have the start of this season though, where we can all say "You should have seen it, he looked like a 30 ppg scorer, but then all the other teams threw him around, he was ultimately too skinny to take it and was only "ok" the rest of the year"

So far, 3/3 in years of KP's career where he starts off really really well, gets dinged up and goes from "really good/excellent" to "good"

Wow, you are a ray of sunshine, aren't you? Why don't you retire him already, while you are at it?

Truth hurts though.

Mark my words, said it in the game thread. He'll look "good" but not "great" from here on out. EVERY year so far, KP starts out hot, gets dinged up/fatigued and his effort drops a bit and his shot stops falling consistently and also he starts to drift a bit in general on the court. It happened sooner this year because of Eurobasket.

He'll have the random "big game" but they'll be 10 games apart - like last year. He'll score more than last year because of shot volume - good player on bad team effect.

Maybe they can shut him down for 3 weeks and he has another resurgence. I don't have any answers in that regard. Either he lacks energy or having a SF playing style in a 7'3" skinny body is really prone to going off the rails with minor injuries because of the physical mechanics of a player that tall. Like a tall guy hitting a baseball (Judge) vs an average height guy.

[thebuzzardman]

And one more thing which was very evident last night - Jarret Jack reverted to what Sessions was doing the first 3 games. Instead of making sure KP gets into the rhythm early on, he was missing him on good opportunities and taking the shots himself even though he struggled shooting last 2 games and it was key to rebuild his confidence by giving him good looks early. Maybe I'm wrong but if I was the Knicks PG, I would definitely look to set up KP early on after the previous games because Knicks success is very dependant on him right now.

Then Frank came in and found KP on a perfect shooting opportunity but it was already too late as KP was 0/6 at that point.

Normally I'd agree, but KP was getting overplayed so Jack was taking what the defense gave. Probably by their design to let jack shoot.

Either KP adjusts there (he didn't) or Jeff (he almost never)

[April madness]

He was also rushing a bit those shots yesterday. As if trying to get going but just a little impatient. Those 3 pointers he hit and then tried another one soon after - I just thought it looked so rushed, almost like him thinking: yay at least the 3 pointer is going in, and after that missed one it was like - oh well, I might as well no bother. Painful to watch, but hopefully he can get over that slump.

[Adelheid]

And one more thing which was very evident last night - Jarret Jack reverted to what Sessions was doing the first 3 games. Instead of making sure KP gets into the rhythm early on, he was missing him on good opportunities and taking the shots himself even though he struggled shooting last 2 games and it was key to rebuild his confidence by giving him good looks early. Maybe I'm wrong but if I was the Knicks PG, I would definitely look to set up KP early on after the previous games because Knicks success is very dependant on him right now.

Then Frank came in and found KP on a perfect shooting opportunity but it was already too late as KP was 0/6 at that point.

It woudnt help even if it was from the start -- KP is out of gas. Golf ball elbows and the usual vicious PT from previous games did him in. I said before that Jeff shoudnt play KP that many minutes along with the vets and high-paygrade players.

[Wolfgang630]

And one more thing which was very evident last night - Jarret Jack reverted to what Sessions was doing the first 3 games. Instead of making sure KP gets into the rhythm early on, he was missing him on good opportunities and taking the shots himself even though he struggled shooting last 2 games and it was key to rebuild his confidence by giving him good looks early. Maybe I'm wrong but if I was the Knicks PG, I would definitely look to set up KP early on after the previous games because Knicks success is very dependant on him right now.

Then Frank came in and found KP on a perfect shooting opportunity but it was already too late as KP was 0/6 at that point.

Frank should be starting. Someone needs to beat this into Jeff's head.

[thebuzzardman]

Instead of his ankle betraying his entire season, it's his elbow. He'll play through it and never look as good as he did the first 14 games.

He's like the modern Bernard King/what if player, except he mostly stays on the court.

We'll always have the start of this season though, where we can all say "You should have seen it, he looked like a 30 ppg scorer, but then all the other teams threw him around, he was ultimately too skinny to take it and was only "ok" the rest of the year"

So far, 3/3 in years of KP's career where he starts off really really well, gets dinged up and goes from "really good/excellent" to "good"

Nah, we can't know if hes is really injured, or its just a natural slump that happens to pretty much every scorer who shoots mostly mid-range shots. There are days when they are just not falling.

Conditioning shouldn't also be a serious issue down the road. He will have next summer completely for himself. (without playing for national team). His body will get naturally stronger, plus NBA training should get his conditioning ready for upcoming years. (if it isn't ready this year )

Yeah, nagging injuries is a concern, but again, its hard to say if he is really playing half injured, how serious it is, how much its bothering him, when its started? He was talking about his elbow before Kings game, and then he dropped 34 on them in 27 minutes.

Actually, in 10 minutes of posting i've come around to his gassed because of Eurobasket, like he is at the mid point of every season, only now because of the summer/Eurobasket, mid season in now.

I expect him to look like Utah/Cleveland most nights from here on out. He won't be "Toronto bad" but those 30+ point explosions are gone. I mean, the league adjusted and they'd be gone anyway, but they are gone from fatigue regardless.

Maybe 4th year KP gets stamina. Knicks will also have to look heavily into things like extra rest, sitting games etc - next year. He's cooked already this year. Unless they sit him for a few weeks. Like a hollywood star on a cocaine binge, he needs to be hospitalized for "exhaustion"

[Wolfgang630]

KP getting gassed early could be contributed to his higher usage percentage and playing Eurobasket. He's got so much spotlight now that everyone in the NBA also wants to play very physical with him.

How is KP not allowed to turn to get into his shooting motion to shoot a shot without it being an offensive foul. He turned and his elbow hit Lowry in the face, but Lowry had his face in KP's shooting area. So stupid that players are allowed to do that to him and he's in the wrong for it?

[thebuzzardman]

KP getting gassed early could be contributed to his higher usage percentage and playing Eurobasket. He's got so much spotlight now that everyone in the NBA also wants to play very physical with him.

How is KP not allowed to turn to get into his shooting motion to shoot a shot without it being an offensive foul. He turned and his elbow hit Lowry in the face, but Lowry had his face in KP's shooting area. So stupid that players are allowed to do that to him and he's in the wrong for it?

Agreed that he's gassed and also the physical play. Kanter/KOQ/Noah/WHG - somebody needs to take a T/ejection/suspension with a strategic "fear of god" shove/punch on someone. This is starting to remind me of Hockey teams that don't protect their finesse center or wing and other teams start taking runs at him. Sometimes you have to goon up.

Also agree on that foul. But KP needs to keep fouling the face of people who do that. With one adjustment. He needs to do it HARD. Probably just once or twice. Word/tape will get around.

Jeff needs to manipulate the team into having that mentality that when KP gets bodied, even if he flops, that the entire team starts getting in shoving/jawing matches with the other team. It'll be worth the technical and ejections for team bonding and also to send the message to opposing players and COACHES that that sh*t isn't going to fly.

Or the Knicks can start cutting the legs, shoving other players and Jeff can pointedly state to the other team's coach "Hey, keep doing that to KP and keep wondering if maybe your good players go down with injury"

If we had that coke sniffing maniac from the Jazz, he'd get it.

[MrOrange]

Instead of his ankle betraying his entire season, it's his elbow. He'll play through it and never look as good as he did the first 14 games.

He's like the modern Bernard King/what if player, except he mostly stays on the court.

We'll always have the start of this season though, where we can all say "You should have seen it, he looked like a 30 ppg scorer, but then all the other teams threw him around, he was ultimately too skinny to take it and was only "ok" the rest of the year"

So far, 3/3 in years of KP's career where he starts off really really well, gets dinged up and goes from "really good/excellent" to "good"

Nah, we can't know if hes is really injured, or its just a natural slump that happens to pretty much every scorer who shoots mostly mid-range shots. There are days when they are just not falling.

Conditioning shouldn't also be a serious issue down the road. He will have next summer completely for himself. (without playing for national team). His body will get naturally stronger, plus NBA training should get his conditioning ready for upcoming years. (if it isn't ready this year )

Yeah, nagging injuries is a concern, but again, its hard to say if he is really playing half injured, how serious it is, how much its bothering him, when its started? He was talking about his elbow before Kings game, and then he dropped 34 on them in 27 minutes.

Actually, in 10 minutes of posting i've come around to his gassed because of Eurobasket, like he is at the mid point of every season, only now because of the summer/Eurobasket, mid season in now.

I expect him to look like Utah/Cleveland most nights from here on out. He won't be "Toronto bad" but those 30+ point explosions are gone. I mean, the league adjusted and they'd be gone anyway, but they are gone from fatigue regardless.

Maybe 4th year KP gets stamina. Knicks will also have to look heavily into things like extra rest, sitting games etc - next year. He's cooked already this year. Unless they sit him for a few weeks. Like a hollywood star on a cocaine binge, he needs to be hospitalized for "exhaustion"

No way the 7 games at Eurobasket already put him in the NBA midseason slump form. He undeniably has gained in physicality. There just seems something wrong healthwise right now.

[Adelheid]

KP getting gassed early could be contributed to his higher usage percentage and playing Eurobasket. He's got so much spotlight now that everyone in the NBA also wants to play very physical with him.

How is KP not allowed to turn to get into his shooting motion to shoot a shot without it being an offensive foul. He turned and his elbow hit Lowry in the face, but Lowry had his face in KP's shooting area. So stupid that players are allowed to do that to him and he's in the wrong for it?

Agreed that he's gassed and also the physical play. Kanter/KOQ/Noah/WHG - somebody needs to take a T/ejection/suspension with a strategic "fear of god" shove/punch on someone. This is starting to remind me of Hockey teams that don't protect their finesse center or wing and other teams start taking runs at him. Sometimes you have to goon up.

Also agree on that foul. But KP needs to keep fouling the face of people who do that. With one adjustment. He needs to do it HARD. Probably just once or twice. Word/tape will get around.

Jeff needs to manipulate the team into having that mentality that when KP gets bodied, even if he flops, that the entire team starts getting in shoving/jawing matches with the other team. It'll be worth the technical and ejections for team bonding and also to send the message to opposing players and COACHES that that sh*t isn't going to fly.

Or the Knicks can start cutting the legs, shoving other players and Jeff can pointedly state to the other team's coach "Hey, keep doing that to KP and keep wondering if maybe your good players go down with injury"

If we had that coke sniffing maniac from the Jazz, he'd get it.

Hmmm. Sounds like a good plan IMO