With the departure of Carmelo Anthony this off-season, the New York Knicks officially became Kristaps Porzingis’s team.
Porzingis has handled that pressure well, posting a career-high in points per game at 23.8 and keeping the Knicks on the edge of the playoff picture at 18-20.
Dealing with being “the guy” and recurring elbow and ankle issues have left its toll on Porzingis and he is admitting it.
"So Tired'': Porzingis admits to wearing down and missing Tim Hardaway Jr. after 38th game https://t.co/65aszG37R8
— Marc Berman (@NYPost_Berman) January 4, 2018
Here is an excerpt from Marc Berman’s piece for the New York Post:
“I’m tired, I’m tired, I’m so tired right now,” Porzingis said in the visitor’s locker room at Capital One Arena. “I have one day to rest my legs and get back and play better and have more energy and try to bring the team’s energy up. We’re in a tough stretch. The mental part doesn’t help at all. When it’s mentally tough you don’t have it in you.”
He confessed the month-long absence of [Tim] Hardaway has finally caught up to the Knicks, who are 1-6 in their last seven. Hardaway could be cleared to run Saturday in Dallas and perhaps join practice on a limited basis.
“Obviously having Tim out doesn’t make it easier,” said Porzingis, who shot 5-of-13 with three turnovers. “Hopefully Tim will be back with us soon and take some of that pressure off me and other guys.”
[Jeff] Hornacek also said the expectations after his first MVP-like month may have been too high.
“Sometimes it’s hard to judge a guy in the first 10 games when he’s really hot,’’ Hornacek said. “We all wanted it to be the normal but he’s 22, trying to be in that role. He’s going to have great nights, going to have rough nights. Some nights the hoop looks really big, sometimes you can barely fit the ball in there.”
Read more at http://www.slamonline.com/nba/kristaps-porzingis-im-tired-right-now/#sO6QP3M15s8UxpCc.99
Porzingis’s numbers have gone down each month, and he has averaged 14.5 points on 31% shooting in two games in January thus far.
It is definitely unique for a superstar to admit his exhaustion in the moment to the media, which is somewhat refreshing, but the fact that he does feel this exhausted and run down could be a bad sign for Porzingis being the face of the franchise that they anticipate on depending on for the next decade or so.
It will be interesting to see if the Knicks fade or stay in the playoff race over the next couple months, if they fade you could see less of Porzingis down the stretch.
