EYE PAYBACK VS . RAPTORS
KP, Knicks out for pay back after getting routed by Raptors last week
This is New York, OK? So there is pressure. There is ALWAYS pressure for sports teams in New York, just like there are traffic jams for motorists. ALWAYS.
But Kristaps Porzingis, the universally regarded face of the Knicks franchise, says the pressure is reduced this year, that expectations were lower at the start of the season. That is good. With the Knicks a surprising 9-7, everyone is feeling feisty.
In that vein, Porzingis labeled Wednesday’s Garden meeting wit h Toronto a “revenge” game for the Knicks. He insists the Knicks seek payback for the 107-84 mauling they suffered in Toronto on Friday. In recent years, a Knick demanding revenge would seem ludicrous. It would have been more, “We’re not gonna let them kick our butts by 23 points. … Twenty, maybe. But not 23.”
“We want to get our revenge,” Porzingis said Tuesday after a short practice in Tarrytown in the aftermath of a 107-85 rout of the Clippers. “They played great at home, we played bad and it’s going to be an opportunity for us.” That revenge angle is big for the Knicks. “We owe them one. On the road, they beat us pretty bad,” center Enes Kanter said. “I think it was 25 points or whatever.” Actually 23. Whatever. Beyond Wednesday, Porzingis likes the Knicks’ horizon — “Yes,” he said simply when asked if this is a playoff team. That’s different from the expectations after an 0-5 preseason.
“The city is behind us. They love that we play hard,” said Porzingis, who accepts the franchise-face role. “I have a bigger role obviously, but I would say the expectations are lower than my first two years and I believe we’re playing above the expectations. So I don’t really feel the pressure.
“I enjoy having the pressure a little bit on and having to play through that and then doing what you’re supposed to,” said Porzingis, who has struggled with his shot over the past four games, going 25-of-73 for 34.2 percent. “And even if it’s not there, maybe the pressure’s not that high, the expectation is not that high, it’s even better to surprise people and do something they weren’t expecting.”
The 7- foot-3 t hi rd - season player wowed the NBA with his monstrous start that included eight games, in his f irst 11, of 30 or more points. The shooting and scoring has dipped recently, although he rang up 25 points (helped enormously by 9-of-9 at the line) in a 7-of-20 shooting night against the Clippers.
Porzingis feels he needs a little more patience. He feels fine, his elbow is not an issue, but he has too often been too quick to shoot, he said.
“I felt good. ... Obviously, the shots weren’t falling. But it’s not something I’m too concerned about. Three or four of them were in and out,” he said. “They will fall eventually.”
On e of Porzingis worst nights was in Toronto: 3-of13 shooting, 13 points.
“I was taking too long playing t hat one-onone. It has to be something quicker. I have to be more aggressive before [the defender] can position himself and be too comfortable,” Porzingis said.
But he can’t be too quick. That was the problem against the Clippers. He and Tim Hardaway Jr. spoke about too many quick shots.
“We take early shots, quick shots ... maybe we can make the other team work a little more especially after [an] offensive rebound. Those are killers, when you have to play 24 more seconds on defense after a second chance,” Porzingis said. “That kills the other team and sometimes we bailed them out with a quick shot.
“If you make it, great. The Garden will explode, but if you don’t, you bail the other team out.”
So patience and discretion. But the Knicks are not complaining. Hey, they’re 9-7. If the playoffs started today, the Knicks would be sixth in the East. Porzingis has had much to do with that.
“There [are] not much players in the league like that. He’s making himself better, and at the same time he’s making the players around him better,” Kanter said. “That’s what a really special player does. … I’m really happy he’s my teammate.”