New York Knicks: Should Kristaps Porzingis Be Playing Less?
Should Kristaps Porzingis be playing less minutes? An anonymous scout believes the New York Knicks are putting his body at risk with his drastically increased playing time.
Following a rookie season for the ages, New York Knicks fans were expecting an extraordinary encore from Kristaps Porzingis. Thus far, Porzingis has lived up to the hype by putting forth an even better second season than expected.
Unfortunately, a recent achilles injury has led some to question whether or not he’s being overworked.
Porzingis appeared in 72 of 82 games in 2015-16 and averaged 28.4 minutes played per game. He’s appeared in 32 of a possible 33 games in 2016-17 and is averaging 34.2 minutes played per game.
Unfortunately, soreness in his achilles tendon kept Porzingis out of the New Year’s Eve clash with the Houston Rockets.
According to Marc Berman of The New York Post, an anonymous scout believes the Knicks are risking Porzingis’ health with such a drastic increase in playing time.
“He’s just turned 21,’’ said the NBA scout, who has worked for multiple teams. “They’re draining Kristaps, putting more minutes on him than anyone. Physically he grew in the offseason. It’s a tremendous amount of strain on new material — ligaments, tendons, knee joints for a big guy. It’s unbelievable stress on his body.”
That’s a concerning evaluation of a player whose physical development is as necessary to trace as any.
Thus far in 2016-17, Porzingis is averaging 20.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.9 blocks, 0.8 steals, and 2.1 3-point field goals made per game. He’s doing so on an efficient slash line of .452/.402/.788.
To lose Porzingis for even a limited period of time could prove devastating given his immense value to the Knicks.
For perspective, the Knicks are 4.6 points worse per 100 possessions when Porzingis isn’t on the court.
True as that may be, any achilles injury, whether soreness or otherwise, is a massive red flag. That’s especially true for a player who stands at 7’3″, as lower leg injuries are common amongst taller NBA players.
With Porzingis averaging 5.8 more minutes per game in 2016-17 than he did in 2015-16, it may be necessary to decrease his playing time by a small measure.
Fortunately, head coach Jeff Hornacek has accepted the need to take the necessary precautions with Porzingis’ health.
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