Daily Knicks
Fansided

New York Knicks: 5 players Luke Kornet should study

By Maxwell Ogden

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MARCH 16: Luke Kornet #3 of the Vanderbilt Commodores drives against Dererk Pardon #5 of the Northwestern Wildcats in the first half during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 16, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MARCH 16: Luke Kornet #3 of the Vanderbilt Commodores drives against Dererk Pardon #5 of the Northwestern Wildcats in the first half during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 16, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 6
Next
BROOKLYN, NY – APRIL 8: Brook Lopez #11 of the Brooklyn Nets handles the ball against the Chicago Bulls during the game on April 8, 2017 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
BROOKLYN, NY – APRIL 8: Brook Lopez #11 of the Brooklyn Nets handles the ball against the Chicago Bulls during the game on April 8, 2017 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /

2. Brook Lopez

Prior to the 2016-17 NBA regular season, it would have been irrational to include Brook Lopez on this list. In his ninth NBA season, however, Lopez made an incredible tweak to his game by becoming a legitimate threat from beyond the arc.

Having made that remarkable progress as a three-point shooter, Lopez has thus become the perfect center for Luke Kornet to pattern his game after.

Lopez made a grand total of three three-point field goals over the course of his first eight NBA seasons. Despite that general disregard of the outside shot, he came back and buried 134 three-point field goals during 2016-17 alone.

Lopez’s offense is still based in the low post, where Kornet has the size to become an effective scorer, but the development of his three-ball is quite compelling.

Defensively, Lopez has never been the most overwhelming force, but he’s an excellent shot-blocker. He boasts career averages of 1.7 blocks per game and 1.9 blocks per 36 minutes, which has helped him overcome the same flaw that Kornet possesses: Rebounding.

Kornet isn’t being projected as an All-Star, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be patterning himself after a player who has achieved that status.

Home/Knicks Draft