New York Knicks

The Knicks front line isn't great now, but just you wait

Published Jul. 21, 2015 4:54 p.m. ET

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Kristaps Porzingis may be young, but he's already showing off what he might be able to do down the line. After a heck of a summer league, Knicks fans should be excited about the prospects of the Zinger, who the Knicks selected fourth overall in June's NBA draft.

The Knicks have legitimate hope for a dominant front line down the road, and John Dorn writes at Bleacher Report how scary these bigs could truly be in a few years:

(h/t Bleacher Report.)

Photo Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

No matter how long it takes Porzingis to develop into the player New York expects him to be, the other two components of the frontcourt are almost locks to work together in harmony.

In Lopez, the Knicks have a solid rim protector whom they won't rely on much offensively. He's not the prototypical post player the triangle thrives with, but Lopez is cut from the same cloth as the center Anthony last saw success with: Tyson Chandler.

Not known for much offense beyond point-blank range, Chandler managed to average 10.4 points and 4.1 offensive rebounds per game during the Knicks' 2012-13 season, when they won 54 games and finished first in the Atlantic Division. While less gifted athletically, Lopez figures to bring many of the same intangibles that Chandler did on both ends of the court.

During that season—one of Anthony's best ever—the Knicks outscored opponents by 7.4 points per 100 possessions when the two-man pairing of Chandler and Anthony was on the floor, according to Basketball-Reference.com. Among Melo's five most common pairings that year, this was the most efficient.