Zinger introduced as #6

tiger0330

Legend
With Travis Wear not being invited to training camp his old number 6 was reassigned to to Kristaps. It's the same number he wore in Spain.

Too bad for Travis, he played with a bad back in summer league which probably hindered his performance but he was odd man out with the Knicks having to make a decision on Ante. Ante didn't have a great summer league but with him threatening to play in Europe if the Knicks didn't give him a contract, he forced the Knicks hand in giving him a contract.

It's been a few weeks since summer league ended and Zinger just got back from vacation in Latvia where he did some training and weight lifting. These photos look like he's put on some upper body muscle in his arms and shoulders. He'll be starting his training program with the Knicks staff and I'm pretty confident he'll be able to put on 10 pounds by training camp. He is tall with a high center of gravity and he is easily dislodged by smaller players as we saw in summer league when he would get knocked over when he set his screens. Gaining weight and strength is going to be his first priority in playing in a more physical NBA.

Can't wait for the start of training camp. Go Knicks.


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tiger0330

Legend
He looks badass! Can't wait to see what this kid becomes.
That's the question with the kid what does he become. His height says dominant Center is his natural position and will he be a misfit being so tall at the 4 when so many teams are going small at the position.
 

Kiyaman

Legend
That's the question with the kid what does he become. His height says dominant Center is his natural position and will he be a misfit being so tall at the 4 when so many teams are going small at the position.


If we still had Timofey Mozgov or Tyson Chandler at center then selecting Zingis with the 4th pick to play at the 4 spot the first 4 seasons in the NBA wouldve been a wise move.
The Knicks not having a veteran center familiar with Fisher coaching on the roster to tutor n prepare rookie Zingis on the different type of frontcourt competition in each game, doesnt give a old Knicks fan (myself) any optimism for a winning 2015-16 season.
 

tiger0330

Legend
If we still had Timofey Mozgov or Tyson Chandler at center then selecting Zingis with the 4th pick to play at the 4 spot the first 4 seasons in the NBA wouldve been a wise move.
The Knicks not having a veteran center familiar with Fisher coaching on the roster to tutor n prepare rookie Zingis on the different type of frontcourt competition in each game, doesnt give a old Knicks fan (myself) any optimism for a winning 2015-16 season.
The odds for a winning season are against the Knicks. Teams that finish with less than 20 wins usually win less than 35 games the following year, thus my prediction of a 35 win season max this year.

Chief predicted less than 30 wins and that happens about 60% of the time with 17 win teams the second year. I will be stunned if PJ predicts the Knicks are going to make the playoffs this year.
 
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jimkcchief88

All Star
Thanks for the stats Tiger; I hope out KNIcKs are more competitive but the I have a bad feeling....:( seems the East got better and we only got marginally better:(
 

tiger0330

Legend
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Anybody see the difference in his body? Seems more muscular though not heavier, the before pic was early Aug. maybe 3 weeks of daily weight training so far.
 

tiger0330

Legend
Progress report on Zinger. He's gained 11 pds. and it's all muscle from the above pic.

http://nypost.com/2015/09/07/porzingis- ... th-knicks/

A Look At Kristaps Porzingis’ Weight-Gain Plan: 11 Pounds so far...

Five kilos.

That’s the amount of weight 7-foot-3 Kristaps Porzingis told his former big-man coach in Cajasol Seville he’s gained since starting the Knicks’ weight-training program five weeks ago.
Five kilos equals about 11 pounds. Audie Norris, who coached Porzingis last season in Spain, spoke to the 20-year-old Latvian he calls “Zinger’’ this weekend.
“The kid’s got a good appetite,’’ Norris told The Post in a phone interview. “He’s aware he has to put on weight. That’s going to be a big part of his pro career — to gain muscle. It will help him in the long run.’’

The skinny Porzingis was drafted with a listed weight of 233 pounds.

“He’s ecstatic, like a kid at Christmas,’’ Norris added of Porzingis’ summer training at the Knicks’ facility in Tarrytown. “He said, ‘It’s amazing how we got everything here. I don’t see how NBA players can become lazy and not work out with everything available to them.’ ’’
The 6-foot-9 Norris, who played three seasons for the Trail Blazers in the early 1980s, was hired by Sevilla essentially to work with Porzingis on his inside game. He also aided another Knicks draft pick — the less-heralded center Guillermo Hernangomez, whom team president Phil Jackson plucked with the 35th pick after buying it from the Sixers.
Norris, 54, calls Porzingis and Hernangomez his “young black lions.’’ Hernangomez will spend this season in Seville while all eyes in New York are on Porzingis, the controversial fourth-overall pick who was booed mercilessly on draft night.

Porzingis knows that he has to pack on the pounds if he is going to have long-term success in the NBA.

“I think he’s going to do very well his rookie season, because he has more confidence than fans really know,’’ Norris said. “The Knicks did a good job of looking at Kris in all aspects. I don’t think Phil would’ve wasted a high draft pick on somebody who wouldn’t contribute his first year.
“His work ethic is really, really high. Not trying to sound like an agent. I coached him and know his potential. He’s doing everything in his power to prove the fans who booed wrong.’’
Porzingis also has to prove himself to Jackson. The Zen Master told Charley Rosen in his online series Porzingis could prove too tall for his own good, not having a strong enough foundation, comparing him to 1990s draft-bust Shawn Bradley.

Norris’ mission was to make Porzingis comfortable inside.

“The first thing everyone knew about him is he’s a perimeter player who shot the ball well, but my focus was to improve his interior game, which he didn’t have,’’ Norris said. “He was all face-up jumper, 3-point shooter. We focused on a post-up game, jump hook, back to the basket.’’

And a bank shot.

“We had to develop with Kris was his turnaround jump shot off the glass,’’ Norris said. “He never shot a bank shot before. We worked on it and he got good developing it.’’
Porzingis scored on a banker from mid-range for his first points in July’s Las Vegas summer league.

“He called me to thank me for teaching him the bank shot,’’ Norris said. “I told him it’s a shot you’ll have the rest of his career. That was cool. Very proud.’’
Norris also had Porzingis play one-on-one in practice with guard Ben Woodside, who played at South Dakota State. It enabled Porzingis to work on staying low with his dribble, protecting the ball against smaller players. And it helped his lateral defense.

In 75 career games with Seville across three seasons, Porzingis averaged 8.1 points. He held up well in Vegas, averaging 10.5 ppg, as the starting center instead of what’s expected to be his natural position — power forward.

And unlike the Knicks’ most recent European player, the boorish Andrea Bargnani, Porzingis’ personality was refreshing. He’s amiable and his English is sharp. His presence in the locker room should be a bonus.

“Kristaps is definitely an extrovert,’’ Norris said. “He loved talking. Sometimes you can’t shut him up. Not one of the quiet guys. Kris wants information and he looks and asks for it. He wants to be better. He asks his teammates, coaches what can he do to get better. Not the silent type and very approachable.’’
Norris said he has a “strong foundation that’s stable’’ with both his brothers having played professionally in Europe. The Spanish season didn’t go smoothly as they finished .500 and coach Scott Roth was fired. But Porzingis showed leadership at age 19.

“A lot of young kids had to carry us,’’ Norris said. ”He encouraged teammates to work after practice with him. He didn’t like losing. He did everything to keep his teammate engaged.’’
In Las Vegas, Porzingis impressed as a shot-blocker who didn’t back down from physical play and scored as much inside as outside. But he didn’t rebound — something Norris says is not “emphasized” in Europe.

“He’s going to improve his rebounding, shot blocking and defense because he’s going to get bigger and stronger, no doubt,’’ Norris said.
 
There is literally nothing to not like about how about this kid approaches the game and how he has approached our team. People need to relax and give him a chance. There may come a time 6 months from now where what we will be saying is 'yeah, this team still stinks, but man, at least we got that Porzingis kid'.
 

tiger0330

Legend
There is literally nothing to not like about how about this kid approaches the game and how he has approached our team. People need to relax and give him a chance. There may come a time 6 months from now where what we will be saying is 'yeah, this team still stinks, but man, at least we got that Porzingis kid'.
He's the future, you can't teach 7'3" with long arms, no one is going to block his shot. I also like his intangibles, like his work ethic and personality. Looks like he's going to achieve goal #1 by the time the season starts which is to gain enough strength to handle the NBA physicality, he'll be able to put his strength to work against O'Quinn and Seraphin in practice.
 

Broadway

All Star
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Anybody see the difference in his body? Seems more muscular though not heavier, the before pic was early Aug. maybe 3 weeks of daily weight training so far.

This picture obviously doctored but it's nice to know he's putting on weight but he should proceed with caution. Not sure if putting on 11lbs in a matter of a few mos is the right way to go about it, but we'll see. Our medical and conditioning staff still can't be trusted on many levels. The kid is 19yrs old he has time to grow into his lengthy frame, don't overdo it.
 
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tiger0330

Legend
This picture obviously doctored but it's nice to know he's putting on weight but he should proceed with caution. Not sure if putting on 11lbs in a matter of a few mos is the right way to go about it, but we'll see. Our medical and conditioning staff still can't be trusted on many levels. The kid is 19yrs old he has time to grow into he lengthy frame don't overdo it.
I saw the original pic on Instagram, this one is more grainy and enhances his muscles more than the original pic but he clearly has put on weight and muscles from summer league. He's pretty proud of what he's done with his body so far judging by his comments but it's what I would expect when you have a guy working out twice a day and having his meals served to him at the Knicks facility.
 

Kiyaman

Legend
I would've been more happy with Zingis if he spent 1 or 2 years in the NCAA rather than 1 year averaging 16 minutes in a league where the majority of players are looking to get into the NBA ....

We Knicks fans are looking for one step away from professional-skills in a young big-man (with know how) to score/rebound/block/screen n chemistry with teammates
 

tiger0330

Legend
Glad to see you still posting here instead of on a Hornets site Kiya. I want to see how a twin tower lineup of him an Lopez looks on the floor, I think that's the lineup of the future with Zinger playing the 4 and Lopez the 5. You need a mobile big man like Hakeem was to Sampson with the Rockets for it to work, JVG tried it with Yao Ming and Dikembe with limited success so I want to see whether Zinger plays more like Dirk or Yao.
 

Kiyaman

Legend
Glad to see you still posting here instead of on a Hornets site Kiya. I want to see how a twin tower lineup of him an Lopez looks on the floor, I think that's the lineup of the future with Zinger playing the 4 and Lopez the 5. You need a mobile big man like Hakeem was to Sampson with the Rockets for it to work, JVG tried it with Yao Ming and Dikembe with limited success so I want to see whether Zinger plays more like Dirk or Yao.


I doubt the NBA will ever see a dominate young Twin-Tower talent as the 2nd season 7.4 Sampson and rookie 6.10 Hakeem take a 29 win Houston Rocket team to a 48 win season, plus a visit to the FINALS, again.

Im not looking for Zingis to be anything like Dirk or Yao .. both Dirk and Yao were offensive bigs that became useless on defense in closing games in their career. Their career playoff record is proof.
Yao only played 30 minute defense vs Shaq, similar to our Carmelo only playing 30 min defense vs Lebron.

Robin Lopez had a nice 2 year run with teammate PF-LaMarcus Aldridge providing 23 pts, 10 rbs, 2ast, 1 blk per game for Portland frontcourt. These are the stats expected from Zingis or Melo in the frontcourt to make the Knicks legit this season.
 
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Kiyaman

Legend



EXPECTATION

Pick n Roll (rookie year) 25%
Pick n Roll (2nd season) 45%
Pick n Roll (3rd season) unstoppable

How athletic are Gingis
How creative at the point are Grant
Are both young players healthy/strong to perform for 3 years without injury

I refuse to put any strong evaluation on our two draft picks until midseason
 

tiger0330

Legend
EXPECTATION

Pick n Roll (rookie year) 25%
Pick n Roll (2nd season) 45%
Pick n Roll (3rd season) unstoppable

How athletic are Gingis
How creative at the point are Grant
Are both young players healthy/strong to perform for 3 years without injury

I refuse to put any strong evaluation on our two draft picks until midseason
I doubt you can say anything about either rookie after Wed. pre-season game. I don't think either Zinger or Grant get more than 10 minutes playing time on Wed. As much as I'd like to see both start esp. Grant for Calderon I don't see it happening until well into the season and if the Knicks do well without them in the lineup, it won't happen this year.
 

Kiyaman

Legend
I doubt you can say anything about either rookie after Wed. pre-season game. I don't think either Zinger or Grant get more than 10 minutes playing time on Wed. As much as I'd like to see both start esp. Grant for Calderon I don't see it happening until well into the season and if the Knicks do well without them in the lineup, it won't happen this year.



I believe coach Fisher will give the rookies Zingis & Grant 20 minutes of playingtime per preseason game.

Im watchin Lou Williams representing the Lakers preseason game ...
FA Lou Williams woudve been the perfect creative guard for coach Fisher triangle-offense
 
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