Kristaps Porzingis says he's working on posting up to help triangle offense
The Knicks big man knows he has to get stronger
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1 min read
New York Knicks big man Kristaps Porzingis is still somewhat of a blank slate. He's 7-foot-3 with quick feet, ridiculous length and plenty of room to improve as he grows into his body and keeps adding to his game. His development is the most important variable as the Knicks try to build something sustainable, and he showed enough promise in his rookie season that it's easy to picture him becoming a dominant force. It's unclear, though, how quickly that will happen. No one even knows exactly how much better he will be in his second season.
In an interview on The Stashed's "33rd and 7th with Anthony Donahue" podcast, Porzingis said that he's working on his inside game this summer. He also plans to be stronger.
"Everybody wants to see me play better in the post," Porzingis said. "That's one thing that's going to help us in the triangle. So I'm adding moves to my post game, I'm really working on staying low, I'm working on my strength overall, especially my legs. That's going to help me defensively as well."
Three thoughts:
- Whoa, he said the T word! New York star Carmelo Anthony does not want to even say "triangle" in interviews these days because it's been such a prominent and divisive topic since Phil Jackson became team president in 2014. With Jeff Hornacek taking over coaching duties, it remains a mystery how much the Knicks will actually run Jackson's beloved offense next season, but it sounds like Porzingis still expects it to be important.
- Eventually, Porzingis is going to be able to overpower smaller players when they switch on him, or simply shoot over them. In one game last year, the Boston Celtics elected to put sturdy but (relatively) short Marcus Smart on him. When Porzingis has a bit more strength and more post moves, he'll never be guarded by somebody almost a foot shorter than him.
- This does not mean that Porzingis is going to become a traditional back-to-the-basket player. Jackson and Hornacek aren't stupid; they know that he can play out of the high post and stretch the floor all the way out to the 3-point line. The name of the game is versatility, though, and it will help Porzingis to simply have the option of going to work on the block, even if New York doesn't put him there that often.
(HT: ESPN)
