The New York Knicks clobbered the L.A. Clippers on Monday for a 107-85 victory at Madison Square Garden. The win left the Knicks with their second win in three games and Clippers head coach Doc Rivers was in awe of Knicks power forward Kristaps Porzingis in particular.
Rivers was discussing the seemingly improved version of the Knicks than the one people saw last season, and in the process, touched on the subject of Porzingis just being a dominant force on the floor.
Via Fred Kerber of the New York Post:
“He’s just a beast,” Rivers said before Porzingis’ defense outshined his offense. “I mean he’s going to be — or he is — one of the great ones now. He’s just going to keep getting better. You look at his numbers and you forget his age, I think, and what he’s doing. It’s just a scratch. … He’s going to keep getting better and better. And that’s going to be scarier for all of us. But they have a good one.”
Kristaps Porzingis made the biggest difference for the Knicks against the Clippers. The 7-foot-3 Latvian had 25 points, albeit through a 7-of-20 shooting from the field, seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals in 27 minutes of action. While he shot poorly in this game, Porzingis’ aggression paid dividends, as he sank all of his nine free throw attempts.
Doc Rivers didn’t exactly sing a new tune when he praised Porzingis. The Knicks’ first-round pick two years ago has been steadily gaining respect and amazement from people in and around the NBA. It’s not often that a 7-foot-3 player comes around and shows the dexterity of a guard and the scoring adeptness of a small forward just like what Kristaps Porzingis is doing. And as pointed out by Rivers, Porzingis is still just 22 years old, which could be quite difficult to believe by merely watching how easy the game is turning out for the Latvian unicorn.
So far this season, Kristaps Porzingis is averaging 27.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game for the Knicks.
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