It's officially OK to feel good about Porzingis, Ntilikina and the Knicks' future
Hats off to my good friend Steve Mills. He is doing an excellent job. The future is promising for his young Knicks.
Johnson and Knicks president Steve Mills have known each other for a long time, so it would be easy to chalk this up to Magic helping out a friend.
But that would ignore what happened on the court Tuesday night.The Knicks needed strong performances from many on the roster to beat the Lakers, but two players they see as foundational pieces were exceptional in the overtime win:
Porzingis, who had 37 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocks, and made some NBA history along the way.
Rookie point guard Frank Ntilikina, who had a career-high 13 points to go with five assists and five rebounds and helped slow down Lonzo Ball late in the game.
If nothing else, what Porzingis and Ntilikina showed on Tuesday is that, for the first time in a long time, it's OK to be optimistic about the Knicks' future. Yes, Magic is on to something.
Why?
Let's start with Porzingis. The 22-year-old became the first player in NBA history to have at least 35 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and five 3-pointers in a game. His night against the Lakers was the latest piece of evidence that he has the chance to be a transformative player in the NBA. Just ask Jeff Hornacek.
"This is probably, hopefully the tip of the iceberg for him," the Knicks' coach said. "This is only his third year in the league, [and] at 22 years old, to put up these numbers is something else. ... And again, he's going to get better and better every year too."
Porzingis' stat line itself is impressive. But what he said about his night after the game was even more revealing.
"It's an honor that I'm capable of doing something that has never been done. But that doesn't help us make the playoffs," he said. "And at the end we want to make the playoffs and do something big as a team."
The Knicks (14-13) will wake up on Wednesday in a four-way tie for sixth place in the Eastern Conference. We're only one-third of the way through the season, so it's way too early to say anything definitive about the Knicks' playoff chances. But if Ntilikina -- who, like Porzingis, was drafted by ex-Knicks president Phil Jackson -- continues to show the incremental improvement he has displayed so far, it would go a long way to helping the Knicks reach the playoffs.Read More Here
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J.J. Redick scored 24 points and was a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line for the Sixers, who snapped a four-game losing streak.
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