Knicks Rumors: Kristaps Porzingis Likely Out Thursday vs Brooklyn Nets
New York Knicks rumors: Power forward Kristaps Porzingis is expected to miss Thursday night’s game against the Brooklyn Nets.
Recent New York Knicks rumors revolve around the health of star power forward Kristaps Porzingis. Porzingis was injured during the Knicks’ game on Tuesday against the Indiana Pacers at Madison Square Garden.
Porzingis was involved in a collision with Pacers’ guard Monta Ellis. The contact didn’t look bad, but Porzingis needed help getting off the court from his teammates. The injury was deemed a thigh contusion and he was unable to return to the game.
Porzingis downplayed the injury after the game, saying that his thigh felt stiff after the game. The Knicks are going to be extremely cautious with their franchise cornerstone and will not play him unless he is 100 percent healthy.
That is unlikely to be in time for the Knicks game against the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night. According to Marc Berman of New York Post, Jeff Hornacek said that Porzingis is unlikely to play against Brooklyn.
Hornacek said KP6 expected to miss Thursday's game vs. Brooklyn. Asked about WC trip, Hornacek sed “We’ll see whenever he’s ready to play.’’
— Marc Berman (@NYPost_Berman) March 15, 2017
This is the right move for the Knicks to make. There is no reason to rush Porzingis back in what has amounted to a lost season. New York is just playing out the stretch run, and having Porzingis play at less than 100 percent wouldn’t make any sense.
More from Knicks Rumors
- Kenny Atkinson is the New York Knicks coach of the future
- New York Knicks management continues to let fans down
- New York Knicks need to avoid the Kawhi Leonard rumors
- New York Knicks: What they should do with the third pick in the 2019 draft
- New York Knicks: Players who can help them win the offseason
While the injury isn’t considered serious, Porzingis should sit out as long as he needs. He came back too early from his first Achilles’ injury earlier in the season and was forced to the sideline again shortly after.
Porzingis has dealt with a number of injuries this season, so taking their time with him this time is the best route to take. The Knicks also wouldn’t be hurt by losing a couple games with Porzingis sidelined.
While not mathematically eliminated, the Knicks playoff hopes are all but dashed. They currently have a 27-41 record, sitting six games behind the Milwaukee Bucks for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Next: New York Knicks 30 Greatest Players Of All-Time
Losing games wouldn’t be the worst thing for the Knicks at this time. Porzingis can help them win games, so having him sit out until he is healthy has multiple benefits.