Kristaps Porzingis and David Fizdale are sending mixed messages in regards to the Knicks superstar’s rehab progress.
On Thursday, New York Knicks fans had to endure the news that Kristaps Porzingis was progressing slowly in his return from ACL surgery. The Knicks head coach, David Fizdale, downplayed Porzingis’ rehab progress. He said that KP wasn’t past the point of light running and he even hinted at the notion that Porzingis would not return this season.
“That’s somewhere else. I don’t want to get distracted personally as the coach, worried about if and when he’s coming back. I’d rather be focused on the day-to-day task with these guys, and when he gets back, that’ll just be a gift for me,” Fizdale told Marc Berman of the New York Post.
These comments had many Knicks fans worrying that they wouldn’t get to see the Latvian superstar this season.
But in a contradictory move, Porzingis posted two photos where he was clearly sprinting. These pictures contradict the comments made by Fizdale stating that Porzingis had not begun sprinting yet.
Kristaps Porzingis posted these pictures seemingly in response to comments made by David Fizdale regarding KP's rehab progress. #NewYorkForever pic.twitter.com/W4HwbXIWL0
— Danny Small (@dwsmall8) November 9, 2018
It’s unclear exactly where there is a disconnect, but there are definitely some mixed signals being sent by Porzingis and the Knicks. Despite the ambiguous messaging, this could end up resolving itself without much drama.
There still is no clear timeline for Porzingis’ return. All indications point to the Knicks playing it as cautious as possible with Porzingis, which Fizdale’s comments reinforced. But the pictures from Porzingis will certainly give life to more speculation about KP’s eventual return.
