Arron Afflalo Finally Cleared for Preseason Action — Knicks News

“I’ve had an extended vacation”, he said.

Afflalo suffered a strained left hamstring two weeks ago. He has no right to come out and be fit right from this injury.

Porzingis didn’t play in Monday’s win over the Sixers and the plan is to have him participate in Friday’s morning practice and, barring any setbacks, play Saturday against the Hornets in Charlotte. The Knicks play one more game Thursday in Boston before the regular-season opener October. 28 in Milwaukee.

Afflalo will however, need all the time he can get for the remainder of the preseason to get familiar with his new teammates, since he barely got any time to familiarize with them during training camp.

Porzingis remains a question mark as he sits out of the preseason with a non-contract injury to his quad.

Jackson said before last season he thought the Knicks could compete for a playoff spot, and they ended up going 17-65.

“It’s not fair to him, it’s not fair to put him in that situation (to be fully ready by opening night)”.

“They want to go slowly”. It would cost too much money.

“I think we are trying to make sure our guys understand that when we force teams to miss or we create turnovers or even on made shots that it’s OK to go down and try to score as quickly as possible that we are not running to set up in an offense, we are running to go score”.

It’s never encouraging for big men (Okafor is 6-foot-11, 275 pounds, Porzingis is 7-foot-3, 240 pounds) to be dealing with lower-body injuries.

Afflalo was the first player the Knicks signed in the summer, inking him to a two-year, $16-million deal. The rangy and versatile Kaminsky could be facing a very similar-style player in Kristaps Porzingis, who was selected fourth overall by the Knicks in June.

He’s expected to be the Knicks’ starting shooting guard and perhaps their No. 2 scorer behind Carmelo Anthony.

The 6-5 swingman also might be the Knicks’ best individual defender, with the ability to guard perimeter players and a few bigger forwards.

Today, Porzingis said that he is pain-free, but Fisher kept him on the inactive list for their game against the Celtics tonight.

New York has held a reputation as a team which loves to shoot the three from every position on the floor. But there’s a level of physicality and aggression that Arron plays with that I think is good for us.

“He obviously hasn’t played basketball in several months”. Thibodeau was replaced by Iowa State University head coach, Fred Hoiberg, who played for the Bulls from 1999-2003… “It’s positive anxiety because we’ve got a great group of guys and they’ve been working really hard”, he said.

“I’m on the sidelines watching the practices, staying focused the whole practice so I can remember the little details”.

Sports World Report noted that the 34-year-old, 10-year pro was still Fisher’s starter during the Knicks’ preseason games, but it is Grant who had been getting the most minutes because of his stellar play on both ends of the court. We’ll see how he responds.