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Through the first few games of the 2017-18 season, it has provided much adjustment for third-year forward Kristaps Porzingis in an increased offensive role as the No.1 scoring option.
At the same time, it has also put him in the position to be involved in plays where there is plenty of contact in the scoring opportunities. All of this has led Porzingis to believe that he’s not receiving enough calls for the physicality he has dealt with so far this season, according to Al Iannazzone of Newsday.
“They’re playing physical against me and all those little contacts maybe that go into my turnaround jumpers, I get a little touch on my elbow or something — it changes your shot so much,” Porzingis said after the Knicks’ 110-89 loss to the Celtics on Tuesday night. “It’s hard for a lot of defenders to block my shot actually so I’m trying to tell the referees all those little contacts on my elbow, some on my arm, it’s bothering my shot and it shouldn’t be allowed.
“It’s tough to see for sure. But I just got to be able to make those shots through contact, I guess.”
The 22-year-old strongly believes that he isn’t getting the proper treatment for the type of contact he receives on a nightly basis. To be fair, this could be a labeled as a common complaint that many players have with the referees.
At the same time, Porzingis has taken an increased offensive role following the departure of All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony as he’s taking nearly five more shots a game from 14.9 to 19.7 through the first three games this season. He has also gone to the free throw line a decent amount of times at 9.3 attempts a game, which is currently sixth most in the league.
Porzingis may have a valid argument that he’s taking on more contact from opponents, but he has also received a fair amount of calls his way through the first few games of the season. Ultimately, it may just be upon him to force the issue a little more at the rim or learn how to better influence opponents to commit shooting fouls.