3. Kristaps Porzingis
Position: Power Forward
Age: 21 (8/2/1995)
Experience: 2nd Season
2016-17 Slash Line: .455/.393/.773
2016-17 Season Averages: 34.5 MPG, 20.1 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 1.9 ORPG, 1.3 APG, 1.8 BPG, 0.7 SPG, 2.1 3PM
The single most appealing aspect of Kristaps Porzingis’ mental makeup is his willingness to take on new challenges. Porzingis certainly did that against the Golden State Warriors, when he attempted to go at defensive ace Draymond Green.
Following a rough performance against the best team in the NBA, Porzingis needs to come out strong against the Denver Nuggets.
Porzingis posted eight points and five rebounds on 4-of-13 shooting against Golden State, but he dominated the previous two outings. He tallied 26 points, 12 rebounds, and seven blocks against the Los Angeles Lakers, and had 34 points against the Phoenix Suns.
The obvious and fair question is quite simple: can Porzingis bounce back from a rough showing to play with the same confidence he displayed before the Golden State game?
Prior to Porzingis’ massive performances at Los Angeles and Phoenix, he shot below 40 percent from the field in five consecutive games. He also averaged 13.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 2.0 blocks on a slash line of .382/.167/.000 against the Nuggets in 2015-16.
For what it’s worth, Porzingis will be squaring off against fellow European sensation Nikola Jokic—a matchup that should push KP to excel.