Kristaps Porzingis invites Cody Zeller to his own private block party
New York’s deadeye shooting big man Kristaps Porzingis has thrown quite the coming out party on his way to superstardom this season. Through 10 games, he’s carried the Knicks to a 6-4 record and scored 300 points, two more than all-time Knicks great Bernard King.
Not only has his absolute detonation on the offensive side of the ball been quite the show to watch, but his ceaseless effort on the other end of the floor is putting him on the map as one of the NBA’s best two way players. The elegant athlete stands at seven feet and three inches with an eight foot wingspan that doubles as a telephone pole-sized shot swatter. The Unicorn had three blocks in the game, and in the clip above, showed just why most players should think twice before challenging him at the rim.
The Knicks were down nine late in the final frame and behind an 18-4 run led by their superstar, they marched back to rip the victory from the Charlotte Hornets clutches. Porzingis’ play down the stretch was huge, but no play meant more to his team than his tiebreaking bomb from downtown with 1:48 left in regulation. After the clutch three, the momentum shifted and New York easily sealed the deal 118-113.
Charlotte was tantalizingly close to winning the game, only to have their hopes heartlessly blown away by the resilience of a surging Knicks squad. The loss relegated the Hornets to a losing record, but showcased their shining rookie’s scoring chops. Along with face of the franchise Kemba Walker and former All-Star Dwight Howard, Malik Monk tied for the team lead in points scored with 21. The shoot first combo guard out of Kentucky jacked up 13 threes, five of which found the bottom of the net.
Monk clearly has the green light to shoot, and as long as he continues to produce in a big way off of the bench, should be given the opportunity to fight for minutes with current starting shooting guard Jeremy Lamb. Although the 11th overall pick doesn’t offer much in terms of point stoppage at this point, he has all the potential in the world to become the much needed secondary cog in an explosive one two scoring punch alongside fringe All-Star Kemba Walker. Of course his minutes would have to increase beyond their current numbers, but the season’s young and the Hornets will only grow more desperate for production with each coming loss.
