New York Knicks fans are extremely excited about their rookie Kristpas Porzingis, and they are hoping that he lives up to the hype he gained as the number four overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. Porzingis is a 7-foot-3 forward with a beautiful shooting stroke and a ton of potential, but he has been dealing with all sorts of different injuries since the Knicks drafted him. Porzingis, though, thinks that he is finally 100 percent and ready to play, according to Al Iannazzone of Newsday.
Porzingis' latest injury came last Sunday during practice when he was running and felt "a pinch" in his right quad. Since he felt that pinch, Porzingis has not played in games or even practiced, but he is hoping that he can get into the Knicks preseason game on Saturday night after practicing on Friday.
"Hopefully, I'll play on Saturday. They're going slowly with me. They don't want to force it too much. But I'm healthy. I'm 100 percent, so I can't wait to get back on the floor," said Porzingis.
It is certainly wise of the Knicks to take it slow with Porzingis as they would rather him be healthy for the regular season, but his lack of health this preseason has to cause some concern for them. This is about the third or fourth time Porzingis has suffered a little injury in a non-contact situation that his kept him out of either practices or games. It could just be the Knicks being overly cautious, but they would still like to see him on the court against NBA competition more than he has been.
The knock on Porzingis is that he is so skinny and might not be able to handle bigger, stronger players on defense. Porzingis has reportedly put on some weight, but if he is getting injured before even getting into real games, that might be an ominous sign moving forward for the Knicks.
If and when Porzingis does get back on the court, Derek Fisher has said that he has a chance to start at power forward to start the season. Phil Jackson has said that he doesn't want to give Porzingis more than 20-25 minutes of playing time to start the season, but if he earns the spot, that plan might change. Porzingis is competing with Kyle O'Quinn and Kevin Seraphin for that starting spot, but as of right now, it looks like O'Quinn might get it as he has impressed so far this preseason. Porzingis has a chance to change all of that, though, if he gets on the court and plays like the Knicks think he can.
