New York Knicks fans can exhale as David Fizdale confirms he and Kristaps Porzingis are now on the same page concerning his rehab progress.
Thursday was a confusing day for the New York Knicks. First, David Fizdale spoke about Kristaps Porzingis’ rehab process, mentioning that KP had not yet begun sprinting. Hours later, Porzingis posted photos of himself sprinting, directly contradicting Fizdale’s comments from earlier.
There was a clear disconnect between coach and star player — one that caused fans to pause. But on Friday, the miscommunication was resolved with haste.
David Fizdale said he was mistaken yesterday to say Porzingis has not started sprinting, was unaware that the forward was sprinting on his own at a nearby track. He called KP this morning and cleared up misunderstanding.
— Stefan Bondy (@SBondyNYDN) November 9, 2018
David Fizdale said he thought Kristaps Porzingis’ Instagram post was a result of frustration over the perception that he wasn’t working hard during his ACL rehab. “He took it personally. It got to him that people would think that.” Again, Fizdale and Porzingis spoke this morning.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) November 9, 2018
It’s no surprise that Porzingis was miffed when every Knicks beat writer, blogger, and fan on Twitter began discussing his “slow” progress. Posting the photos was his way of telling the world he’s well on his way.
But Knicks fans shouldn’t be too concerned with this miscommunication. Fizdale cleaned up this mess rather quickly. He threw cold water on this story before the story had any real traction. In past years, a story like this would drag on for longer, raising more questions than answers.
But not this time around. Fizdale’s handling of the situation highlights his ability to put his hand up and say, “my bad.” That’s not always easy for a high-profile coach to do and it’s something that is a refreshing change of pace in New York.
"I’m the only doofus that didn’t know he had went out to the track. Like I said, part of it is because I’m just locked into this." https://t.co/3nI8OfRxwH
— Chris Iseman (@ChrisIseman) November 9, 2018
We’ve heard this same type of sentiment from Fizdale before. When the Knicks lost a close game to the Boston Celtics, Fiz took the blame for a late sideline out of bounds that went haywire.
Similar to the Celtics game, this may have been a slip up on Fizdale’s part. But not a major slip up and his lightning-quick recovery is the most important takeaway from this series of events.
Oh, and Kristaps Porzingis is definitely sprinting.
