New York Knicks: 5 Areas For Kristaps Porzingis To Improve

5. 3-Point Stroke

At 20 years old, Kristaps Porzingis has already mastered the art of the midrange jump shot. He made 122 shots from midrange in 2015-16, converting at a remarkably efficient clip of 43.9 percent.

Even in the modern NBA, that’s a valuable strength to have—just ask LaMarcus Aldridge, Marc Gasol, and Dirk Nowitzki.

The next step in Porzingis’ development as an offensive player is to improve his efficiency from beyond the 3-point line. Porzingis is already a consistent threat from 3-point range—81 3-point field goals made in 72 games—but there’s room for improvement.

A mark of 33.3 percent is more than acceptable from a rookie big man, but he rushes his release when coming off the bounce, as evidenced by his shooting 3-of-15 on pull-up 3-point field goals.

89.7 percent of the 3-point field goals Porzingis attempted in 2015-16 were from above the break. Head coach Jeff Hornacek should create more opportunities for Porzingis to shoot from the corner, but Porzingis’ pick-and-pop efficiency will be built from above the break.

If Porzingis can improve his efficiency—just 33.6 percent from above the break in 2015-16—he can take the next step towards being an unstoppable offensive force.

Next: No. 4