The dynamic duo of Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis will lead the New York Knicks tonight as they’ll host the Orlando Magic.
New York Knicks (14-14)
Orlando Magic (15-12)
Today, 7:30 PM on MSG
Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, New York
By Chip Murphy
Last season the New York Knicks won their 14th game on March 17th. When you listen to the mainstream media and fans talk about their weaknesses, its almost as if they have forgotten about last year’s nightmare.
This team has come so far in just an early stage of the rebuilding process and that has been lost in the Kristaps Porzingis hysteria. The 2014-15 Knicks boasted 35 and 31 starts from Lou Amundson and Jason Smith, respectively. Amundson has appeared in just 12 games this season for the Knicks and Smith — now with the Orlando Magic — is playing less than 15 minutes per game.
The Knicks haved turned things around, and the key to that success has been the relationship between Porzingis and Carmelo Anthony.
#Knicks go for 5 in a row in Magic rematch @TheGarden! #NYKvsORL PREVIEW https://t.co/KoR6ZY22ckpic.twitter.com/rS4BDVphpz
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) December 21, 2015
After an offseason filled with speculation over Anthony’s relationship with Phil Jackson and his opinion on Kristaps Porzingis. Rumors swirled that Anthony didn’t agree with Jackson’s out-of-the-box thinking on draft day and would have preferred if the Knicks had went with a different prospect. This caused trade rumors, reports that Anthony was not a part of Jackson’s rebuilding plan, and Porzingis was now the franchise centerpiece.
After Anthony’s jealousy over the attention paid to Jeremy Lin during the “Linsanity” days, there was concern that he wouldn’t be able to handle Porzingis-mania. The media doesn’t crowd around Anthony anymore, they want to talk to the rookie whose last name is on the tip of everyone’s tongue. For now it seems that Anthony and Porzingis are close. Porzingis takes every chance he gets to complement Anthony in the press, even calling him a mentor.
Kristaps Porzingis on Carmelo Anthony: “From the first moment we met, he’s been like a mentor to me.”
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) December 20, 2015
All of the Knicks fans that criticize Anthony should take note of how valuable his presence has been to their newest hero’s success. Porzingis will be around for a lot longer than Anthony, but for now they are playing great together and perhaps most significantly the only stories about them are about things happenings on the court.
