The Knicks are starting the season at 2-4. But all of Knicks Nation, and Carmelo, have been decidedly patient with Kristaps Porzingis who has been putting up some stellar numbers with 12.3 points and 8.3 boards out the gate.
The kid is a work in progress, and with his quick impact, some fellow lottery teams are now wishing they drafted the overall #4 pick from last June's NBA Draft. As the Knicks prepare to face a fellow basement-dwelling Lakers this Sunday, L.A. head coach Byron Scott explained why they ultimately decided to not select the Latvian still-early sensation with their #2 overall pick. He lamented:
"[We] just thought it was going to take him some time [to develop]. Obviously, we were probably a little wrong about that because he’s playing pretty well right now. Man, he's a good player. This kid has a hunger to be really good. The comparisons to Dirk Nowitzki because of his size and the way they can shoot the ball is pretty accurate, especially when Dirk first came on the scene. The kid is going to be really special one day."
Even Kobe Bryant spoke highly of Porzingis' stellar production to start the year. "From what I’ve seen so far, he looks pretty damn good," Bryant said. "He’s skillful, he can do a lot of things. He seems to be very competitive, too. He has a good competitive spirit about him."
But the real question is this: Is Porzingis better than Kobe right now?
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[via ESPN]
