Here's Anthony Randolph's cheap shot on Porzingis that led the technicals: pic.twitter.com/M8fszIXQ0Q
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) September 12, 2017
Kristaps Porzingis suffered a cheap shot during Tuesday’s EuroBasket quarterfinal from Slovenian forward and former Knick Anthony Randolph.
Kristaps Porzingis is a star player in the NBA, and he’s a star player at EuroBasket 2017. Star players are often the target of dirty plays. The unicorn was victim to a giant cheap shot during Tuesday’s quarterfinal matchup vs. Slovenia.
With just seven seconds remaining in the game, former Knick Anthony Randolph locked arms with Porzingis as they waited for a rebound. After the shot went in, Randolph attempted to throw Porzingis to the ground.
Both Porzingis and Randolph were awarded technical fouls; along with Spurs forward Davis Bertans of Latvia. Unfortunately for KP, Randolph’s teammates were better on Tuesday.
Slovenia eliminated Latvia in a phenomenal game – 103-97 – despite an incredible 34 point performance on 12-of-21 shooting. Randolph scored 16 points to go along with a combined 53 from the dynamic duo of Goran Dragic and Luka Doncic.
This is the kind of treatment Porzingis should expect as the center of an offense with an NBA team. As I wrote just a few days ago, KP’s star is becoming enhanced due to the EuroBasket experience.
The 22-year-old got a good taste of what NBA stardom is like over the last couple weeks. When Carmelo Anthony is traded, the New York Knicks become his team. All the attention falls on him and EuroBasket was good preparation for the upcoming season.
