Kristaps Porzingis, the No. 4-overall draft pick, has been viewed as the most welcomed addition to the New York City landscape since Starbucks set up shop in every fifth storefront. Every move chronicled, usually viewed on the masterpiece level of a Rembrandt.
Then came his recent three-game road trip, where he shot 6-of-25, was scoreless in one game, and for all intents was just another 7-foot-3 Latvian. Panic gripped segments of the Knicks faithful. Porzingis was feared to have hit the — gasp! — rookie wall.
“I don’t think so,” Porzingis said Monday after Knicks practice in Tarrytown. “I don’t really know what a rookie wall is.”
Thank heavens for that. Ignorance can be bliss.
Porzingis waved off fears he is in the dumpster after 25 games. He summed up his struggles during the 1-2 trip as exactly what they were: a by-product of life in the NBA.
“A couple of bad games, it happens to all of us. Not only rookies. I’m just looking forward to the next game,” Porzingis said. “So ups and downs, obviously this is my rookie season.”
That next game will have a lot of attention because aligned on the side of the Timberwolves on Wednesday will be Karl-Anthony Towns, the first pick in June’s draft, the guy so many Knicks fans wanted before the lottery placed New York fourth. So Nos. 1 and 4 get to attack each other’s jugular.
“Karl-Anthony Towns, he’s a load down there. He’s having a hell of a season. But that matchup, that’s going to be here for a while — Porzingis and Karl-Anthony Towns,” said Porzingis backer Carmelo Anthony, who also addressed that fabled “rookie wall” contention.
Anthony said he felt the difference his rookie season. Only it wasn’t after 25 games.
“My first day. The minute you step on that court, everything changes from just the way you sleep, you’ve got to figure out a routine that works,” Anthony said. “You’ve got to work out, you’ve got to train multiple times a day, and you’ve got to go out there and perform.”
So thoughts of fatigue and lethargy must fall by the wayside. There’s a low-post load headed to the Garden.
Towns is second in rookie scoring at 14.9, ahead of third-place Porzingis (13.6). Towns is the NBA’s best rookie rebounder (9.2) and shot-blocker (2.17) and second in field-goal percentage (.531). Porzingis, among rookies, is second in rebounds (8.4), blocks (1.8) and, with nearly four times as many 3-pointers as Towns, is seventh in shooting (.441).
“I’m excited. … He’s really playing at a good level, and it’s going to be fun to play against him,” Porzingis said of Towns, whom he labeled “a good guy” from their predraft meetings. “He’s an all-around player. He can shoot from the outside, he can post up, he has a nice hook shot. That’s the most dangerous [thing] about him: You don’t know what he’s capable of doing. He’s a good rebounder, so it will be a challenge.”
It would be even more of a challenge if Porzingis were gassed. But again, the Knicks — and Porzingis — see mini-slump, not 25-game crash-and-burn. And then there is the painfully obvious: Defenses are adjusting.
“People are definitely more aware of the things he was doing that made him effective, but also there are going to be ups and downs during the course of a season no matter how great the player is,” coach Derek Fisher said. “You can go to other players around the league, chart their numbers and you’ll find some stretches where their numbers dramatically dip for whatever reason — fatigue, injury, stress. The great ones usually come back at some point. I think Kris will be back to his normal levels to what we came to expect soon enough.”
Said Porzingis: “A few of the games, yeah, I felt more attention on me. Guys are playing tighter on me on the perimeter. That’s something I’ve got to be ready for. … Melo is the No. 1 point of attention. Always, everyone is on him. As he is getting open looks for me and creating for me and for everybody on the team, and I’ve had good games now, there’s more attention on me, too.”