Porzingis thread #4: The KP era is upon us

[HarthorneWingo]

LeBron liked IG highlight videos of KP's crossover today.



Matt Barnes also commented this in one of the crossover IG vids:



Nice to see him liked/respected by the rest of the league.

Video links:

Spoiler:

He's been a gentleman to the refs for the most part since he's been in the league.

[NYKAL]

I'm still not completely sold that he'll be as good as many think... he still hasn't shown he can post up a smaller player (ala Smart), he hasn't shown he can make others around him better, can he handle constant double teams? For me, the jury is still out and it will be VERY interesting to see how he handles being The Man.

because he more Durant than he is Dirk.

[dakomish23]

I'm still not completely sold that he'll be as good as many think... he still hasn't shown he can post up a smaller player (ala Smart), he hasn't shown he can make others around him better, can he handle constant double teams? For me, the jury is still out and it will be VERY interesting to see how he handles being The Man.

RE him posting up, a lot of guys would have a problem backing down Smart. If KP does post up a lot as a method to get the ball in a one on one situation, I hope he faces up more than trying to back down after getting the entry pass. He can shoot over pretty much everyone and has the ability / handle to blow by most bigs.

Every time I watch his highlights from last year, so many of them were him facing up against the defender or blowing by guys on a closeout.

[Jalen Bluntson]

I want him to develop a hook shot. Unstoppable with his height.

[Knicks Byke]

smart’s low center of gravity and his tank built would give anyone problems backing him down.

[MrOrange]

I read this and cannot stop smiling. What exactly you expect from the guy? Play post or perimeter? Listen to Janis or not listen to Janis (btw, who is currently struggling to get visa), call out the team or not when needed? Give the lad a break for 1 season and we'll see.

[MartinsLusis]

huh?

melo was defended 1 on 1 all of last year because he's not a threat anymore.

melo wasn't doubled at all

you are the fake news of this board

and you still see things through rose colored glasses.

melo was defended 1 on 1 all of last year, this isn't me making something up ... this is true. i know this because i would constantly mentioned how melo isn't being doubled team last year in all the game threads.

in fact there was a point where kristaps was getting double teamed and melo was the beneficiary.

He was doubled on occasions but not nearly as much as some tend to think, yes. He was doubled when he was taking the deciding shots at the end of the games for example and also some other times but mostly he had a single defender on him.

[Greenie]

Melo was doubled often last year.
Defense would lag off to cheat to him.

[NoLayupRule]

you are the fake news of this board

and you still see things through rose colored glasses.

melo was defended 1 on 1 all of last year, this isn't me making something up ... this is true. i know this because i would constantly mentioned how melo isn't being doubled team last year in all the game threads.

in fact there was a point where kristaps was getting double teamed and melo was the beneficiary.

He was doubled on occasions but not nearly as much as some tend to think, yes. He was doubled when he was taking the deciding shots at the end of the games for example and also some other times but mostly he had a single defender on him.

yeah, thats just not how I saw it

I saw a very predictable offense where every defense knew melo was shooting, or rose if he was holding the rock. So they packed in on him with help.

Melo may not have a lot of respect around here but he's not a single coverage player. They helped on him constantly.
I dont get how people bash him for shooting over three defenders but then claim he's not double teamed

[Greenie]

quadruple team.

Thank you, Chaos Hamster!

Yes. There were several situations like this at the Eirobasket when KP had 4 defeders on him (I remember in Montenegro game too, might be other as well) and those ended with a pass to a teammate for an open 3-pointer.

How many assists did he average?

[Greenie]

and you still see things through rose colored glasses.

melo was defended 1 on 1 all of last year, this isn't me making something up ... this is true. i know this because i would constantly mentioned how melo isn't being doubled team last year in all the game threads.

in fact there was a point where kristaps was getting double teamed and melo was the beneficiary.

He was doubled on occasions but not nearly as much as some tend to think, yes. He was doubled when he was taking the deciding shots at the end of the games for example and also some other times but mostly he had a single defender on him.

yeah, thats just not how I saw it

I saw a very predictable offense where every defense knew melo was shooting, or rose if he was holding the rock. So they packed in on him with help.

Melo may not have a lot of respect around here but he's not a single coverage player. They helped on him constantly.
I dont get how people bash him for shooting over three defenders but then claim he's not double teamed

Welp

[April madness]

quadruple team.

Thank you, Chaos Hamster!

Yes. There were several situations like this at the Eirobasket when KP had 4 defeders on him (I remember in Montenegro game too, might be other as well) and those ended with a pass to a teammate for an open 3-pointer.

How many assists did he average?

Not many, just 0.9. He's not a good passer and might never be (I guess I have got used to this thought by now), I'd be happy if he can be an average one. But those quadruple team episodes he did pass to a teammate.

[TankCommander17]

He seemed way more assertive in game 1 of the preaseason. Really like what I see. I think strenght will always be an issue but that crossover. The dude is what 7'3. Acting like a guard out there.

Can't wait to see year 3 Porzingis.

[NBA Fan 1234]

Yes. There were several situations like this at the Eirobasket when KP had 4 defeders on him (I remember in Montenegro game too, might be other as well) and those ended with a pass to a teammate for an open 3-pointer.

How many assists did he average?

Not many, just 0.9. He's not a good passer and might never be (I guess I have got used to this thought by now), I'd be happy if he can be an average one. But those quadruple team episodes he did pass to a teammate.

He was also doing the same with the double teams most of the time. Think back to Melo's 2012-13 season - they would double him, he'd kick it to the nearest open guy, which would then start a chain of passing until the team gets a better shot. Assists are meaningless when things like that happen.

[MaseInYourFace]

Hopefully Hornacek is smart enough to realize he basically needs to be a 5 defensively. I hope some kind of compromise can be reached there. I think KP thinks he can be fine operating strictly on the perimeter but that really takes away his defensive impact.

[MartinsLusis]

Yes. There were several situations like this at the Eirobasket when KP had 4 defeders on him (I remember in Montenegro game too, might be other as well) and those ended with a pass to a teammate for an open 3-pointer.

How many assists did he average?

Not many, just 0.9. He's not a good passer and might never be (I guess I have got used to this thought by now), I'd be happy if he can be an average one. But those quadruple team episodes he did pass to a teammate.

He has good passing skills, however he doesn't really pass much.

[MartinsLusis]

and you still see things through rose colored glasses.

melo was defended 1 on 1 all of last year, this isn't me making something up ... this is true. i know this because i would constantly mentioned how melo isn't being doubled team last year in all the game threads.

in fact there was a point where kristaps was getting double teamed and melo was the beneficiary.

He was doubled on occasions but not nearly as much as some tend to think, yes. He was doubled when he was taking the deciding shots at the end of the games for example and also some other times but mostly he had a single defender on him.

yeah, thats just not how I saw it

I saw a very predictable offense where every defense knew melo was shooting, or rose if he was holding the rock. So they packed in on him with help.

Melo may not have a lot of respect around here but he's not a single coverage player. They helped on him constantly.
I dont get how people bash him for shooting over three defenders but then claim he's not double teamed

Sure, I'm not saying that defenses didn't help on him each game. It just wasn't (on my opinion at least) all the time like some imply. KP was covered by double teams as well. Not constantly though.

[ChaosHamster]

Jeff Hornacek talks about why Kristaps Porzingis is likely to play more power forward than center this year: "With the roster we have, we have a lot of bigs at that position at the five, so it's natural for him to play the four. If we want, at times, maybe (playing Porzingis at center is) a weapon we can go to against some teams. It's probably different if we had only other center then maybe he gets more minutes there. If you look at our roster he's not going to get a ton of time there but it's an option we can go to." Hornacek was asked why there is hesitance to play Porzingis at center. "I think we gotta find a balance of size and age and strength and him getting banged by the big guys all the time. Yes, it does bring him closer to the basket for blocked shots but we feel he can still do that from the weakside and come over and help," he said. "Some of the things we're doing defensively, we'll bring him there a little more often as a four-man. But it's the pounding he would have to take some times against these guys."

[stuporman]

With assists in FIBA scoring of them it really needs to be doubled to get to how the scoring for assists in NBA. FIBA is really restrictive in how it scores assists and the NBA is quite liberal in how it scores assists.

I want to see KP develop although I'm tired of hearing about who's team it is, who the offense goes through, who's the number one option, I want the team to develop and improve but all that other stuff about who is 'the man' is egocentric nonsense.

Look at the Warriors, on any given night there are 4-5 different guys who will lead the stat box or get the bulk of the opportunities but it is determined by match ups and what the defense gives them, not on some predetermined recipe from player's reputation.

[blueNorange]

can't not believe NLR is trying to tell me that melo was double teamed last year, he was facing single coverage because he's a low percentage shooter.

teams want melo to shoot because he has more off games than good games at this point in his career, why is this so hard to understand? better yet why are we still talking about another failure in knicks history who's not on the team anymore and who'll be forgotten the next time the knicks are relevant?