The NBA season is still young, but New York Knicks power forward Kristaps Porzingis is already feeling the effects of not having Carmelo Anthony around – at least when it comes to getting extra chances on offense.
According to ESPN's Ian Begley, the 7-foot-3 unicorn has experienced a dramatic increase in his involvement in the Knicks’ offense through the first two games of this season compared to the same stretch last year.
Very small sample size but Kristaps Porzingis averaged 43.5 touches in his first 2 games last year. This year? 65: https://t.co/LKvwG8kug6
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) October 24, 2017




While the difference is staggering, it’s not really that surprising to see Porzingis getting a lot more touches in the offense these days since the Knicks parted ways with two ball-dominant superstars in Derrick Rose and Anthony back in the offseason.
Rose led the Knicks in touches by a wide margin last season with 78.8 per game while Anthony had 60.5, a shade short of Porzingis’ 60.4, per NBA.com.
With both Derrick Rose and Carmelo Anthony gone, the Knicks are left with no choice but to treat Porzingis as the unrivaled focal point of the team’s offense. It has been abundantly clear even in just the first two games this season that the Knickerbockers will go as far as the young Latvian can take them.