For His 2nd Act, Kristaps Porzingis Must Beat His Own Scouting Report

NEW YORK — Where did Kristaps Porzingis go?

Through two-and-a-half months, the No. 4 overall pick—who many fans thought would be a lemon—was the toast of the NBA’s rookie class along with Karl-Anthony Towns. He was shooting threes, slamming putbacks and scoring in a bevy of ways—from the post, mid-range, anywhere. He's in line for a top-two Rookie of the Year finish.

But the year ended on a sour note. As the 32-50 Knicks piled up second-half losses, Porzingis fluttered away from the spotlight and nearly out of the news cycle. 

He recaptured some of that early-season electricity over his final six games, averaging 19.3 points during that span (he missed the Knicks’ final seven contests with a shoulder injury), but the magic wasn’t quite as consistent. Rebounding numbers gradually turned more human. The putback dunks went into early hibernation. After a strong middle-of-the-season run from beyond the arc, his three-point shooting dropped flat since February.

Credit the defensive scouting reports that eventually made the 7'3", 240-pound Porzingis a top priority. He wasn’t a target heading into many November and December games, but that predictably changed. He came to see different coverages that went beyond just getting into his face and displacing him from his favorite spots on the floor.

Porzingis Struggles with Guards

You could argue the rest of the NBA started constructing Porzingis’ “wall” in a Jan. 12 game against the Boston Celtics.

Boston coach Brad Stevens began the second half of that contest unconventionally. He assigned the 6'4" Marcus Smart to Porzingis, and the guard actually held his own.

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Smart dug hard into Porzingis that evening. He denied him the ball, knowing that if one of the NBA’s tallest players did actually receive an entry pass, he’d have an immediate double-team coming his way.

It started a trend of smaller, more abrasive defenders finding some success against the Knicks rookie.

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“He comes from a less physical brand of basketball,” one NBA executive says of Porzingis. “Those smaller guys, especially like the Marcus Smarts of the world, the reason their coach thinks he can guard Porzingis is because he’s a physical kid.”

The adjustment isn’t easy for a young player trying to break into his first season.

“On the perimeter? That’s where the advantage is,” says Memphis Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger, who has led one of the league’s most physical defenses over the past few years. “Guys who [have the] experience would just say, 'I’m gonna put my body on you. I’m gonna get the ball where I want to get it, and I’m just gonna shoot over the top of you.' Younger guys don’t have that experience yet. So you’ve got to mess with them as much as you can with a smaller guy.”

The small-on-big matchup isn’t specific to Porzingis. Blake Griffin and Anthony Davis also saw similar defensive strategies thrown their way when they first came into the league.

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“I think, you ask anybody that’s played. They hate trying to post up a 5'9", strong, little guy,” Stevens says. “They hate going against those guys that get can up underneath them and use their leverage and get after the ball. You put the ball on the ground, and you’re hesitant.”

Suns forward P.J. Tucker, who found some success switching onto Porzingis the last time Phoenix came to New York, calls it “getting into his legs.”

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“You can’t shoot without your legs,” he says. “So, you’ve got to really get into him and make him shoot fadeaway jumpers.”

Smart’s strategy was apparent.

“Obviously, he has the height advantage against you, so you try to use your advantages to help you out, exploit his disadvantages, because that’s exactly what they’re gonna try to do when I’m guarding him,” he says. “They’ll try to post me up and everything. So when he’s out on the wing, I can make him really uncomfortable and put the ball on the floor.”

Make Porzingis Make a Play

Defenders, almost regardless of size, will rarely get a piece of Porzingis’ shot, but they can still alter it with their presence. Defenses began to run Porzingis off the three-point line, getting up on him when he hung around the perimeter. They were making him dribble.

And was bothering him at times.

“He plays a lot of pick-and-pop. He spots up around the perimeter, and I would want to take those shots away,” one opposing scout says. “So I would close out hard, but I would also want to close out under control. The thought is if I had to pick my poison, I would want to make him put the ball on the floor for one or two dribbles, or make him make a play rather than just let him get comfortable by spotting up and shooting around the perimeter.”

The Knicks didn't help their own cause, either. Porzingis hung around the post more often than ever once Kurt Rambis took over for Derek Fisher in February. He also played more 4 than 5.

But he’s still scrawny. If his future comes as a center who can stretch the floor and anchor a defense—a distinct possibility given his length, defensive recognition and skill contesting shots at the rim—the Knicks should make sure he’s more comfortable in 2016, 2017, 2018 and beyond.

Eventually, a stronger, heavier Porzingis could allow the Knicks to play a five-out lineup. They’ve found success pairing him alongside Carmelo Anthony in the frontcourt in spurts, though they didn’t go to that strategy much late in the year.

The Counter-Counter

Some of this is on the Knicks coaching staff. You’d think it would prefer him to stretch the floor rather than clog the lane next to Robin Lopez, who had a strong season but needs to hang around the paint. You’d think it would get back to more Porzingis pick-and-rolls, especially ones that include him and Anthony.

Those plays present a challenge to opposing players beyond just the big man assigned to Porzingis. Mike Conley, one of the NBA’s best defensive point guards, needed two words to describe defending Porzingis pick-and-rolls: “It’s hard.”

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He expanded.

“You don’t know what to do, whether you go under the screen or even if he’s going to set a screen, because a lot of times, he’s just going to run up and slip out, which causes you to lose your man or our big man to lose him, and he gets open for threes and spreads the court,” Conley says. “That versatility really stretches the floor for them.”

The year didn’t always play out like that, though. Inconsistency from a performance and strategic standpoint was all too prevalent. Porzingis has finished less than one-seventh of his possessions screening on a pick-and-pop or pick-and-roll, per NBA.com's SportVU data.

“You’ve got a guy that’s that dominant scoring the ball, and then you can stretch with the 5 man,” says Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder, whose team fell to the Knicks this year as Fisher went to a small lineup with Porzingis at the 5 in the fourth quarter. “It’s matchup basketball, and those two guys are unique.”

Now it’s the Knicks’ turn to adjust and make sure they can unleash those uncommon traits once again.

Fred Katz has been published at Bleacher Report, Fox Sports, ESPN and the Washington Post. Find more of his work at Dime Magazine. Follow him on Twitter, @FredKatz.