Daily Knicks
Fansided

New York Knicks: Realistic Expectations For Kristaps Porzingis

By Maxwell Ogden

Oct 4, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; New York Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis (6) shoots the ball over Houston Rockets forward Ryan Anderson (3) during the third quarter at Toyota Center. The Rockets won 130-103. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 4, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; New York Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis (6) shoots the ball over Houston Rockets forward Ryan Anderson (3) during the third quarter at Toyota Center. The Rockets won 130-103. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 6
Next
Jan 13, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; New York Knicks power forward Kristaps Porzingis (6) dunks over Brooklyn Nets center Andrea Bargnani (9) and guard Shane Larkin (0) and guard Sergey Karasev (10) during the fourth quarter at Barclays Center. The Nets defeated the Knicks 110-104. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 13, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; New York Knicks power forward Kristaps Porzingis (6) dunks over Brooklyn Nets center Andrea Bargnani (9) and guard Shane Larkin (0) and guard Sergey Karasev (10) during the fourth quarter at Barclays Center. The Nets defeated the Knicks 110-104. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

Rebounding

If he exerted maximum effort in this area, Kristaps Porzingis would be the most productive rebounder in the NBA. His size, length, and athleticism permit rebounding numbers that few have ever seen.

In his second season, one can expect Porzingis to begin to find the Kevin Garnett balance of versatile defense and dominant rebounding.

Porzingis averaged 7.3 rebounds and 1.8 offensive boards in 28.4 minutes during the 2015-16 regular season. That translates to per 36 marks of 9.3 rebounds and 2.3 offensive boards, which aren’t far from the rational expectation for 2016-17.

Porzingis covers the entire baseline as a defender, but he should easily exceed 8.0 rebounds per game in 2016-17.

Porzingis may lose some of his production to Joakim Noah—a tremendous rebounder unto himself—but he should also have more opportunities. New York’s defense projects to be better than it was a season ago, which means more shots will be missed.

It’s also worth noting that Porzingis is well on his way to becoming the putback king, which implies his offensive rebounding numbers will continue to rise.

Realistic Expectation: 8.5 RPG, 2.0 ORPG

Home/Knicks News