Kristaps Porzingis is an NBA beast. He was a beast at the beginning and now he’s even beastier. The 7’3″ Knicks forward is a load to handle. Besides running the floor with grace and purpose, Porzingis possesses a variety of post moves and Dream-shakes that make him unguardable if he’s hitting the jumper. And Porzingis is hitting the jumper — he’s shooting 50% from the floor, averaging 30 points a game and nearly eight boards. On the other side of the floor Porzingis changes everything in a way that hasn’t been seen at Madison Square Garden since Patrick Ewing hung up his giant sneakers. Porzingis is averaging 2.2 blocks per game. Ewing averaged 2.4 in his career. Here’s what six insiders are saying about Porzingis and his MVP chances, which early on looks like a surprise dead heat between Porzingis and Giannis Antetokuonmpo. (The two insanely athletic big men, both 22 years old, are the top scorers in the NBA so far.
1) At USA Today, Charles Curtis pushes the idea that Porzingis is playing at a high level because he’s gifted and because Carmelo Anthony is gone — but also because Phil Jackson lit a fire under him by publicly doubting Porzingis’s readiness. Jackson is gone but Curtis says since Porzingis is on an MVP tear, “maybe Knicks fans can pool their money and send Jackson a gift basket.”
Blowup exit interview✅
Pretend to trade Porzingis✅
Piss Kristaps off so much it unleashes a dormant MVP version of him✅oh my god PHIL KNEW https://t.co/0oPUlDELKL
— ?Sky Wob? (@World_Wide_Wob) November 6, 2017
2) Daily News Knicks coverage veteran Frank Isola says admiringly of Porzingis’s MVP quality season: “There is an almost magical quality to Kristaps Porzingis right now, something we haven’t experienced at the Garden since the height of Lin-sanity.”
3) At SBNation the formula that explains the Knicks record and Kristaps Porzingis’s MVP qualifications are simply stated: “The Knicks aren’t very good, but Kristaps Porzingis is great.”
4) Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek says: “When you’re 7-3 and have the skills that he has and doing it on both sides of the ball, you’re going to be put up as one of the best players in the league. KP has that drive.”
5) Former Knicks center, fellow 7-footer and NBA Champ (Dallas Mavericks) Tyson Chandler says Porzingis: “has a chance to be the best player in this league.”
6) Enes Kanter, Knicks teammate who played with last year’s MVP Russell Westbrook, doesn’t just think Porzingis can win MVP. He thinks he’s a Hall of Fame candidate: ” I believe that he can definitely become a Hall of Famer in the future.”
