New York Knicks Midseason Grades By Position: Power Forward

Kristaps Porzingis was booed when the Knicks selected him fourth overall in 2015. He was confident in his skills and quickly turned those boos into cheers. Porzingis hear his name chanted throughout Madison Square Garden by the end of the season. He remains Phil Jackson’s crown jewel since becoming President of the team.

Porzingis had an excellent rookie year, finishing second in the Rookie of the Year voting behind Karl-Anthony Towns. He worked hard this offseason on his jump shot and strengthening his lower body. As a result, he has taken some steps forward in his sophomore season.

He has improved to 19.2 points on 45.3 percent shooting overall and 39 percent from deep, up from 14.3, 42.1 and 33.3 as a rookie. His free throw attempts are at 3.9 per game, up from 3.3, but is making 79.3 percent this season compared to 83.8 last year.

The stats are pretty even everywhere else across the board, which is slightly disappointing. Porzingis is playing 5.5 minutes more per game, yet the only statistic he has improved upon is his scoring. While he is taking some steps, there are plenty of steps left to take.

Porzingis has a tendency to foul, averaging 3.7 per game. As an important piece of the team, he cannot afford to take himself out of the game. He has also struggled at times defensively. He is a solid help defender and rim protector, averaging 1.9 blocks per game, but his one-on-one defense and overall team defense could use some improvement.

There is no doubt Porzingis is the franchise cornerstone. But, he still has a way to go and the net rating shows that. The Knicks have a -3.0 net rating with and without Porzingis on the court. Their offensive rating improves with him on the sideline, but their defensive rating gets worse as well.