New York Knicks

Kristaps Porzingis on current slump: 'A couple of bad games, it happens'

Published Dec. 14, 2015 4:14 p.m. ET

foxsports

There's no question the play of Kristaps Porzingis has fallen off over the last few games. The better questions are to why.

Porzingis, though, is saying this one has nothing to do with the rookie wall. From Justin Tasch of the New York Daily News:

Ever since going for 28 points on Dirk and the Mavericks last week, Porzingis has struggled. During the team's three-game road trip, which ended Saturday with a win in Portland, he averaged just 5.7 points per game, capping it with a zero-point contest against the Blazers. His minutes fell to just over 22 a night as he shot 6-of-25 in that trio of matches.

This might be a good thing for Kristaps. No one is doubting his talent, and all rookies go through poor stretches like this. Learning to deal with a slump is always important for a great player. On top of that, his subpar play is forcing coach Derek Fisher to limit his minutes, which were way up for the previous few weeks, a possible reason for his current slump.

In the end, there's nothing to worry about. Porzingis will be fine. He's too tremendous a talent and mind not to be.

He was undoubtedly in a rut, but the 20-year-old shot down the idea that he has hit a rookie wall 25 games into his NBA career.

“I don’t think so,” Porzingis said Monday after the Knicks practiced at their training facility in Greenburgh. “A couple of bad games, it happens. It happens to all of us, not only rookies. I’m just looking forward to the next game and preparing myself as good as I can. I don’t really know what a rookie wall is. So it’s ups and downs. Obviously this is my rookie season.”

Porzingis’ rough road trip culminated with the first point-less game of his young career in Portland on Saturday. He shot 0-for-6 from the field and didn’t get to the free-throw line in 19 minutes. For the trip, Porzingis scored 17 points on 6-for-25 shooting while grabbing 13 rebounds.

That he stumbled for a few games early in the season isn’t an indication that there’s a long-term issue brewing, according to Carmelo Anthony.

“It’s December,” he said. “It’s 20-something games into the season. I hope (Porzingis isn’t) thinking that he hit a wall just because of a couple of off days. There’s no such thing as a wall.”