Injury proved how vital Porzingis is to Knicks

Porzingis also posed for photos with the President of Latvia, Raimonds Vjonis, and there was honest confusion on press row about whether the hovering bodyguards with earpieces were there to protect Porzingis. He’s that valuable to the Knicks. Following Saturday’s 115-102 defeat to the Bucks, they are 6-26 without their Unicorn this season, playing the type of defense that’d make a wet paper bag look sturdy. There were some nights they missed Porzingis’ rim protection on defense, when it was easy to remember that he led the NBA in blocks per game for much of this season.

On other nights they missed his offense, the way he spread the floor and opened up driving lanes for guards who’d otherwise find it impossible to penetrate into the paint.

Doc Rivers, who could be a candidate for the next Knicks coach if he leaves the Clippers, recently underscored why Porzingis’ injury reverberates off the court. “In this day and time an ACL is not a death sentence anymore. Most guys come back and they’re healthy and they’re fine. But he was having an All-Star season,” Rivers said last month. “He’s also a guy that — I don’t know what you want to call him — a pied pip- er. He brings other people. The better he plays the more people want to play with him. And so not having him and not knowing when he’ll be back. That hurts more than just this year. So to me, that’s where this injury hurts them the most.”

This all leads us to the $150 million question in the offseason, when the Knicks will decide whether to give Porzingis that max extension or wait another year. There are arguments for both sides. The Knicks are under no obligation to offer the deal before Porzingis becomes a restricted free agent in the summer of 2019, so it’d be wiser to sit back and see how he responds following the ACL surgery. On the other hand – for the sake of peace and stability – it’d be better to lock up Porzingis at the first opportunity, avoiding a repeat of the resentment that engulfed the franchise last summer after Porzinigis skipped his exit meeting. egardless, it’s worth remembering just how hopeless the Knicks feel without their Unicorn. Like a Latvian Heritage Night without the Latvian.

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