Seeing what could’ve been
The Magic and their fans can get a glimpse at a rookie the club might have taken at No. 5 had he not been drafted a spot earlier by Wednesday night’s guests, the New York Knicks.
Kristaps Porzingis, the 7-foot-3 big man from Latvia, has been as impressive in his first season as Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns.
Porzingis is averaging 13.7 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.
He was booed by New York fans on draft night, but he has won them over. He has even impressed Knicks star Carmelo Anthony, who originally was cool to the idea of the club bringing in another young player after a 17-win season.
Porzingis had 24 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocks in New York’s win over the Houston Rockets last Saturday. He became just the fifth rookie in the past 20 seasons to post at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocks in the same game, according to ESPN.
Magic coach Scott Skiles acknowledged that Porzingis was on the team’s radar. But the Knicks swiped him with the No. 4 pick, leaving the Magic to take Croatia small forward Mario Hezonja at No. 5.
“He’s good. He’s going to be a great player,” Skiles said of Porzingis.
Hezonja, 20, has appeared on all 14 games, but has averaged just 4.6 points and 1.8 rebounds in 14.5 minutes.
Skiles was asked if he was surprised that Porzingis has turned heads so early.
“I don’t know if ‘surprise’ is the right word if you are a top 10-type lottery pick,” he said. “A lot of it is being in the right place at the right time. Does the team that picked you even need you or are they bringing you along slowly? We thought he was going to be a good player and he’s a good player.”
Afflalo returns
Arron Afflalo, a former Magic shooting guard, missed the first eight games with the Knicks because of hamstring issues.
He has started the past seven games, averaging 12.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists.
Afflalo has scored in double figures the last four games and is 9-of-19 from 3-point range.
Afflalo was acquired by the Magic from the Denver Nuggets in the multi-team Dwight Howard trade in 2012. After two seasons in Orlando, he was returned to the Nuggets in a deal that delivered the Magic SG-SF Evan Fournier.
Afflalo’s travels didn’t end there. The Nuggets traded him to the Portland Trail Blazers before the deadline last season. He signed as a free agent with the Knicks this summer.
Helping out
Magic PF Tobias Harris, along with Amway and Magic staff members, distributed 450 Thanksgiving meals to underserved families in the Central Florida area. The meals included a turkey and all the trimmings which were donated to preselected families from the Parramore, Englewood and Rosemont areas.
Also, an auction to benefit the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation will be held during Fox Sports Florida’s live broadcast of the Magic’s game against the Knicks tonight. Fans can view and bid on auction packages directly from their smartphone or computer by logging on to www.orlandomagicauction.com. Fans can bid from home or directly from their seats at the game. All bidding closes at 10 p.m.