If you had to take a poll right now of whom the leader in the clubhouse for the Rookie of the Year through about a quarter of the NBA season is a lot of people would probably say Kristaps Porzingis. The New York Knicks 7 foot-3 big man has been a revelation and has kept his team relevant so far this season but lately he has struggled a little bit and it is fair to wonder whether the rookie has hit a wall.
After going off for 28 points against the Dallas Mavericks a week ago Porzingis has scored just 17 points in his last three games and his minutes have been sporadic. On Saturday Porzingis played just 19 minutes and went 0-6 from the field in a win against the Portland Trail Blazers and said afterwards that his legs were tired, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post.
The Knicks were able to withstand Porzingis' no show in this game because Carmelo Anthony had his best game of the season as he scored 37 points but for the most part this season Anthony hasn't played all that well and Porzingis has carried the team. This Knicks team is more talented than they were last year by a long shot but in order for them to reach their goal of making the playoffs they will need big production from both Anthony and Porzingis.
Last season while playing in Spain Porzingis only played 50 games and a total of 1,072 minutes but so far this year he is already up to 683 minutes through 25 games and with the more strenuous schedule in the NBA his minutes clearly need to be watched and he admitted that he needs some rest, according to Al Iannazzone of Newsday.
"This is kind of the first experience of playing so many games and on the road and in six days, four games. It's tough for sure. But I got to get used to it. That's the schedule and I know the team needs me every night. I'm just happy that when I wasn't there, they still managed to win games. I need rest mentally, physically," said Porzingis.
Porzingis has given the Knicks more than they could have ever imagined so far this season but fatigue and injury issues were a couple of the concerns people had about him when he came to the league. Fortunately the 20 year old has been healthy all season and insists he still is but the fatigue is a bit of a concern and something head coach Derek Fisher needs to take into account because the Knicks will need their rookie at the top of his game down the stretch.
