New York Knicks: Enes Kanter flashing star potential of his own

Power forward Kristaps Porzingis is the face of the New York Knicks, but center Enes Kanter appears to have star potential of his own.

There’s no realistic way to frame Kristaps Porzingis suffering a torn ACL as a positive. The New York Knicks lost the franchise player to a season-ending injury. More importantly, a human being is being temporarily prevented from pursuing their dream.

An opportunity has been created by absence of the go-to scoring option, however, for Enes Kanter to establish his long-term value.

Kanter was the young centerpiece of the trade that sent Carmelo Anthony to the Oklahoma City Thunder. While Anthony may have been the focal point on Oklahoma City’s end, Kanter’s untapped potential was what appealed to New York.

With Porzingis sidelined, Kanter has begun to take on a heavier workload and realize the potential that many believe he possesses.

Before we discuss what Kanter has done, the necessary context is that it’s only been four games since Porzingis’ injury. One could understandably include the game during which Porzingis was injured, but that would still create a limited sample size.

Kanter has been building towards an emergence as a future All-Star, however, and his performances without Porzingis imply he may be closing the gap.

The question, of course, is if his numbers are empty.

Over his past four appearances, Kanter has averaged 19.3 points, 13.5 rebounds, 4.5 offensive boards, and 2.5 assists in 31.5 minutes per game. He’s shooting 57.1 percent from the field and 87.5 percent from the free throw line during that time.

That’s even more impressive when one considers the fact that Kanter is averaging 12.3 field goal attempts and 6.0 free throw attempts per game.

Those numbers aren’t too far off from the 25-year-old’s season averages. Thus far, he’s averaging 19.8 points, 14.7 rebounds, 5.0 offensive boards, and 2.2 assists per 36 minutes on 60.4 percent shooting from the field and 87.1 percent shooting from the free throw line.

The unfortunate reality, however, is that Kanter’s production continues to fall on deaf ears as the Knicks fail to win games.

In turn, Kanter has become a sympathetic figure of sorts in New York. The fan favorite is breaking out with what may be his best NBA season to date, but the Knicks are failing to make the most of his contributions.

Alternatively, the Knicks have played better in 2017-18 when Kanter hasn’t been on the floor—a fact that needs context, but a fact nonetheless.

Kanter has played an average of just 26.1 minutes per game in 2017-18, which admittedly finds a role in the team playing better without him. When a player isn’t allowed to play through the ebbs and flows of a game, we often receive misleading statistics.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that Kanter will play better if he’s given the opportunity to develop a fourth quarter rhythm, but his three-quarter usage has stunted his development.

The hope moving forward is that, sans Porzingis, Kanter can continue to be a featured option on offense. He’s still just 25 years of age, meaning he’s developing along a close enough timeline to New York’s younger players.

More importantly: Kanter will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, meaning the Knicks need to determine how much they’re willing to pay their starting center.

Porzingis’ injury may lend credence to the belief that the Knicks should utilize him at center, where he’ll be asked to cover less ground. If Kanter continues to excel, however, the front office may be willing to try its luck with he and Porzingis as the starting interior.

Regardless of what transpires, New York will utilize the next two months to make final determinations about its pending free agents.

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New York Knicks center Enes Kanter can guarantee his future with the team by continuing to tap into his potential.