Kristaps Porzingis shows off his handles in Knicks pre-season tilt
Tuesday night, Kristaps Porzingis unleashed a nasty crossover to dunk sequence that left Nets defender Qunicy Acy in his dust searching for the ball. Porzingod took home the highlight of the game, but the Brooklyn Nets had the last laugh taking home the victory 115-107 over the Knicks.
The matchup showcased two rebuilding teams with high hopes for their young centerpieces.
Just weeks ago, New York finally managed to rid themselves of Carmelo Anthony and the drama that was his rumored trade saga.
Although many fans expressed their disappointment with Doug McDermott and Enes Kanter being the sole pieces received in return for the once revered all-star, the Knicks have proven they are dedicated to Porzingis and have definitively given him the reigns to the franchise.
In his first game as the man, Porzingis didn’t fail to live up to expectations. In addition to flashing his refined dribbling, he reminded the NBA just how dangerous he is running the floor and even showed signs of an improving back to the basket game.
New additions Kanter, McDermott and Tim Hardaway Jr. also impressed dropping, 43 points in 57 minutes, a showing the trio might very well need to post regularly if the Knicks hope to make any noise in the NBA this season.
While the Knicks are now clearly in rebuild mode, the Nets quietly pulled off one of the boldest moves of the summer. Brooklyn dumped aging center Brook Lopez in exchange for Lakers big man Timofey Mozgov and combo guard D’angelo Russell, a player who Magic Johnson once believed was to be the new face of the Lakers franchise.
Russell started the game hot and never looked back, finishing with 19 points and four assists in just over 20 minutes of action.
Though performances like these tend to get disregarded in the preseason, the importance of a solid outing for a young player’s confidence cannot be overstated.
However terrible the Knicks and Nets play and whatever their records say at year’s end, it’s clear the two teams are ready to take the next step in the rebuilding process and hand over the keys to their bright-eyed stars.
