New York Knicks: Kristaps Porzingis Has A Lot Of Work To Do

The New York Knicks and their fans found out the hard way Friday against the Denver Nuggets and Nikola Jokic just how much work Kristaps Porzingis still has to do.

The New York Knicks suffered yet another embarrassing loss Friday night. This time, they were beaten by the Denver Nuggets, who won 131-123. The Knicks have lost four games in a row, as their homestand has been a disaster. Against the Nuggets there was not a lot to like.

Jeff Hornacek decided to make a change to his starting lineup. With Joakim Noah sidelined, the Knicks had been starting Kyle O’Quinn at center. Against a smaller Nuggets lineup, Hornacek decided to shift Porzingis to center and insert Brandon Jennings into the starting lineup. The results were disastrous.

While the Knicks were able to score a lot, they couldn’t stop a cold Friday night, let alone the Nuggets offense. The Nuggets shot 56.8 percent overall and 50 percent from deep on the night. They had six players score in double-figures on the night, led by a career-high 40 from Nikola Jokic.

It is safe to say that Hornacek will probably not going with this lineup again when the Knicks finish their homestand against the San Antonio Spurs Sunday afternoon. A reason for a change needing to be made was the play of Kristaps Porzingis.

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While the loss cannot be solely blamed on Porzingis, he didn’t help the cause much. The loss against the Nuggets was another example of just how much more work Porzingis needs to put into his game to reach his potential.

There is no denying that there is a lot to like about Porzingis. His skill set is impressive for a player that is seven-feet-three inches tall. But, as we saw Friday against the Nuggets, people may need to slow down anointing him as the best player on the team and someone ready to carry them.

Hornacek has mentioned at times that he wants to use Porzingis at center more. While Porzingis may be destined to be a center eventually in his career, now is not the time. He does not have the strength and defensive ability to anchor a defense without another big man next to him. The Nuggets scored with ease tonight and dominated the boards, outrebounding New York 44-33.

Porzingis benefited from having Robin Lopez next to him last season. Lopez improves the rebounding number of any power forward playing alongside him as he does the dirty work inside. Porzingis has not been afforded that luxury this season and his rebounding numbers have suffered as a result.

Where we really saw Porzingis needing to improve on Friday is on the defensive end. Nikola Jokic had his way with Porzingis all over the court. Jokic did a little bit of everything for the Nuggets. In addition to scoring 40 points, he added nine rebounds, five assists, and two steals. There were times that he even initiated the offense as Porzingis had no answer for him.

The dominance Jokic showed is what the Knicks hope Porzingis can eventually do for them. Jokic and Porzingis were both selected in 2015, but it is fair to say that Jokic is way ahead of Porzingis in their development. Jokic is already the centerpiece of the Nuggets attack and is thriving on the court.

Porzingis shows flashes of dominance but does not sustain it. There are other reasons for that, such as Carmelo Anthony and Derrick Rose being high usage players, but Porzingis needs to continue developing if he wants to impact a game the way Jokic does.

Next: Has Kristaps Porzingis' Development Been Stunted?

The Knicks and their fans got a dose of reality on Friday night watching Porzingis go head-to-head with Jokic. The sky is the limit for Porzingis’ potential, but he still has a long way to go before reaching it as he was schooled by Jokic in every facet of the game Friday night.

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