Kristaps Porzingis, the New ‘Zingsanity’ of the NY Knicks

It’s not just his 24 points 14 rebounds, and his seven blocks, but it was how he he got those number. The other had played less than a minute all year before taking up just under three minutes against Cleveland. That it happened against a club with a history of big men – Moses Malone, Ralph Sampson, Hakeem Olajuwon and Yao Ming – seemed fitting.

“It’s in our daily approach to what we’re doing”, Derek Fisher said.

Before Saturday, the Knicks were 1-19 against Houston over the past decade. They fell to 5-9 which includes home losses to the Nuggets, Nets, Celtics and Knicks. From the onset, momentum swung like a pendulum with the Knicks answering an 11-2 Rockets run with seven consecutive points to pull even on a Calderon 3-pointer with 3:52 left in the first period. This is because Knicks fans are a little insane, yes, but also because Knicks fans have passion, which translates into excercising their disposible income for Porzingis jerseys even as the majority of the population struggles to make ends meet.

Porzingis is legit. He probably would’ve been drafted higher had he played a year of college basketball instead of sticking out his professional European career, and Knicks fans have exacerbated the hype by making and sharing Vines and GIFs out of every bright nuance of his game, especially the least expected ones. “And I thought that was going to be priceless for him”.

The fantasy for a few Knicks fans involves Durant one day suiting up with Porzingis.

One of the rookie’s highlights on Saturday was converting hook shots with both hands.

Porzingis’ one misplay was an attempt at a Euro step which deteriorated into Euro trash when he lost control of the ball. For Carmelo Anthony, it was a star career at Syracuse before being drafted No. 3-overall in 2003.

Anthony picked up his third foul early in the second quarter and his fourth foul early in the third and was forced to watch much of the game from the bench. Arron Afflalo scored 16.

Finally, and maybe the most significant, Porzingis adds enthusiasm and an incredible work ethic to an aging Knicks franchise.

Porzingis posted 24 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocks to help extend the Knicks’ winning streak on the road in Houston. No surprise, he ranks first in offensive rebound percentage, and ranks fourth among rookies in the offensive rating category, which measures the amount of points a team scores while that person is on the court. He has so far been the Lakers’ leader in minutes per game, despite looking like a shadow of the all-time great player he used to be. Now the Rockets have moved past using Ty Lawson in the first unit, the team has to ask serious questions about the proper way to use him in the second unit.

He tracked down an offensive rebound to keep a possession alive, and Galloway drilled a three-pointer. Anthony then fouled Trevor Ariza behind the line and Ariza converted two of three. More significant, there were moments in Tuesday’s victory when Anthony actually passed up open looks to get the ball to Porzingis, who shot 10 of 17 from the field.