A new franchise player is about to emerge for the New York Knicks and his name is Kristap Porzingis. According to Steve Popper of USA Today, Porzingis' increased role in the Knicks offense only suggests the team has begun its transition from the Carmelo Anthony era to Porzingis.
Popper stressed Melo currently is the face of the Knicks organization. However, Porzingis' emergence as one of the primary options for the team only indicates a new era is about to begin at Madison Square Garden.
Anthony, whom Porzingis considers a big brother, is also aware Porzingis is growing at a ridiculous phase before his very eyes. Nevertheless, the former scoring champion still relishes his role as the go-to-guy for the Knicks, allowing guys like Porzingis - who averaged at least 24 points over the last seven games - to thrive offensively.
"We're still working on that," Anthony told USA Today. "I'd rather it be kind of the other way around at this point, get his confidence going. Teams, regardless of what's happening out there, they will always load up and double-team and take me out of the game. And he benefits from that. So I want to keep doing that and what he has to do."
-Speaking of Melo-Porzingis dynamic, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News reported about Jeff Hornacek's reluctance to rely heavily on their small-ball lineup.
"It's always a game of chicken," Hornacek said. "I thought earlier in the season we went small and it didn't pay off. We ended up losing the game. It's one of those feels if it works, you ride it. If not then you need to get out of it quicker."
The Knicks have been really efficient offensively with Porzingis taking the center spot and Anthony at the four position. Unfortunately, Hornacek is taking a cautious approach since benching Joakim Noah, who signed a four-year, $75 million deal last summer, would only look the deal a lot worse than expected.
