The New York Knicks should put excitement back in Madison Square Garden with the scoring prowess from their offseason acquisitions.
Derrick Rose and his backup Brandon Jennings are set to fill up the stat sheet, but will second-year Kristaps Porzingis be forced to take a back seat?
That's the last of his worries, according to Ian Begley of ESPN, who spoke to Porzingis at a camp he hosted for children in Westchester, New York.
“That's secondary for me,” Porzingis said Saturday. “If we can win games, it doesn't matter who is scoring. If we as a team can win (it doesn't) matter who is taking how many shots, at least for me. So if we all have that same mentality then we're going to be fine … It's just as simple as that.”
Carmelo Anthony will get the majority of the shots – deservedly so as he is the most decorated player on the team and the one who will carry most of the scoring load.
While Rose and Jennings both sport a high usage rate, neither are at the same points where they used to be in their career.
Rose is no longer an MVP-caliber player who needs to dominate the ball, and Jennings won't play enough minutes to get 15 shot attempts on a nightly basis.
If the two play their role and involve Porzingis in their game, it could be a beneficial relationship for all — the Latvian-international will get enough shot attempts while Rose and Jennings will get better quality shots and assists while playing a high-low game.
Realistically speaking, the 7-foot-3 phenom is bound to be the third option in New York, but the team would be smart to treat him as a 2-B option instead of a role player since he can exploit a lot of mismatches with his versatile game.
“Obviously, the number one goal is the playoffs this year,” said Porzingis. “That's where my head is at. I can't be thinking nothing past that. Right now it's the playoffs.”
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