Kristaps Porzingis is taking his scoring to a superstar level

Kristaps Porzingis had a historic night at Madison Square Garden against the Lakers, scoring 37 points, grabbing 11 boards and blocking five shots. He became the only player to ever to put up that 37-10-5 night while making five three-point shots. Welcome to the new NBA.

But L.A. couldn’t have done anything more to prevent Porzingis’ night if it wanted to. Whether it was Brook Lopez, Lonzo Ball, Larry Nance Jr., or Kyle Kuzma, every Lakers defender closed on Porzingis’ shots from inside the paint, outside the arc, and anywhere in between. It was a legitimately strong defensive performance against him from a team not known for that end of the court. Head coach Luke Walton shouldn’t blame his team’s defensive effort. It isn’t their fault Porzingis is otherworldly with hands in his face.

Porzingis had to earn all 37 of his points from around the bucket, from long-range, and off the dribble. L.A. forced the Latvian into uncomfortable possessions, and brought the unicorn out. That’s all you can really ask for.

Porzingis’ biggest offensive improvement is shooting under pressure

With a 7’3 frame and nimble body, nobody on the Lakers’ roster could keep pace with Porzingis at his own free-running game. So they made him play bigger like a true center at times, forcing him to fight for position on rolls, and back down stockier defenders.

But he’s just too tall. No matter how close L.A. came to his release, he sunk each shot. There’s a new poise to his game this season.

This season, Porzingis is shooting 58 percent from the field on three-point attempts per game when he’s guarded by what NBA player tracking stats deem as “very tight” defense (0-2 feet away). That’s seven percent better than his numbers from 2-4 feet away (eight attempts).

For comparison’s sake, Joel Embiid shoots 55 percent against “very tight” defense, according to NBA player tracking stats, on the same number of attempts. Karl-Anthony Towns is at 53 percent.

Porzingis is becoming one of the best finishers with a hand in his face among the unicorns, which wasn’t the case when he was firing 47 percent on the same attempts a year ago.

Nobody’s pressure was bothering him.

No, not even Ball’s.

And no, the shot distance didn’t matter either.

What does this mean for Porzingis?

Porzingis is going through the meteoric third-year rise we’re so accustomed to seeing from the NBA’s elites. Though he probably won’t win it, he should be considered for Most Improved Player as well as the All-NBA teams if he continues this pace.

Without Carmelo Anthony, Porzingis has become THE guy in New York, and he’s more than proven he can handle it. The team is much better with him at the helm.

He’s scoring seven more points per game than last year (25.5) on one percent better shooting despite attracting the most attention, the best defenders, and assuming five more shots per game within the team’s offense.

The Knicks have a superstar on their hands, and even L.A.’s best defensive effort couldn’t hold him.

Get used to this.

Let's block ads! (Why?)