Phil Jackson: Kristaps Porzingis has hit the rookie wall
New York Knicks president Phil Jackson was rather frank Friday about Kristaps Porzingis' stalled play since the All-Star break.
The Lativian wunderkind took the Garden by storm to start the season, but his play has dropped off significantly since the unofficial halfway point in the season. Jackson, who previously called Porzingis a "phenom," has a simple explanation for the decline:
Phil on KP6: "Our kid hit the wall."
— Marc Berman (@NYPost_Berman) March 11, 2016
Porzingis was named Rookie of the Month in each of the first three months of his rookie campaign, but he lost out in February to Indiana's Myles Turner, and given his continued struggles in March, a fourth award doesn't appear to be in the cards.
| Statistic | Pre All-Star break | Post All-Star break |
|---|---|---|
| MPG | 28.2 | 24.9 |
| PPG | 13.9 | 13.5 |
| RPG | 7.7 | 5.0 |
| BPG | 1.9 | 1.6 |
| FG% | 42.6 | 39.3 |
| 3PT% | 34.9 | 25.7 |
| TS% | 52.2 | 49.0 |
Not coincidentally, the Knicks have fallen into a downward spiral in conjunction with Porzingis' struggles, but those date back to mid-January. They're just 7-19 since briefly nudging to the .500 mark.
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Granted, his downturn isn't any reason to be less optimistic. Hitting the rookie wall is a common phenomenon and he's still an agile 7-foot-3 unicorn toting a tantalizing collection of talent.
But for now, Porzingis is just another reason to feel downtrodden in New York.