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Rambis says Porzingis just not ready for crunch-time

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Kristap Porzingis settles for too many jump shots, says interim Knicks coach Kurt Rambis.Brian Babineau/NBAE/Getty Images

Kristap Porzingis settles for too many jump shots, says interim Knicks coach Kurt Rambis.

It has reached a point with the Knicks where the results are more of background noise, where a win or a loss on a Saturday evening isn’t going to sway their fumbling season in any particular direction.

But if Kurt Rambis has an inclination of turning the final month into an audition for the future of the franchise, the interim coach is resisting until he hears otherwise from Phil Jackson.

The interim coach didn’t hold back when asked about Kristaps Porzingis, who is getting more tough love from Rambis than coddling.

“There still is a responsibility to try to win ballgames and have these guys have the right mindset and culture that we’re here to win,” the interim coach said. “Someone asked me a while ago if there’s going to be a point in the season where you’re just going to play the young guys. I’m not there yet. If management tells me at some point in time we’re there and they want to make that change that’s something I’ll defer to them, but as a coach I’m not there yet. So I’m going to go with the guys I trust and have the experience.”

Rambis didn’t play his youngest guy at all Saturday in a 102-89 victory over the Pistons because Porzingis sat with a bruised left leg. It was a day after the rookie was benched for most of the fourth quarter in a close defeat to the Celtics, and he was a late scratch after initially being penciled into the lineup.

The Knicks even took the step of giving Porzinigis X-rays that turned up negative.

“When he worked out, after he got some treatment, he was having trouble pushing off on it,” Rambis said. “Our medical staff determined he wasn’t able to play He’s listed as day-to-day and the medical staff feels very confident that it will not be a lingering thing.”

Kristaps Porzingis is struggling with the stamina required to play NBA minutes.Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

Kristaps Porzingis is struggling with the stamina required to play NBA minutes.

Derrick Williams started in place of Porzingis, giving the Knicks a quicker and smaller lineup. Porzingis was not missed Saturday and, according to his coach, he’s not ready to play down the stretch of games, regardless.

“It’s been tough because we’ve gone small. So he’s going to be at center and matchups are going to be a concern, it’s situations of whether he has the experience to be at the 5 spot as well,” Rambis said. “The execution of knowing what we want offensively from him at center. He’s a natural floor-spacer but we need him more inside when he’s at center, rolling in pick-and-roll situations.

“Otherwise we just settle on a bunch of outside shots. That happened to us (against the Celtics on Friday) early in the fourth quarter. They had no fouls against them because we weren’t attacking the basket. We were settling for jumpshots. I’ve got to get a comfort level with him being able to guard different people.

“He’s 20 years old. We keep forgetting about that,” Rambis added. “And guys don’t really develop their NBA stamina until – I don’t know, it varies from guy-to-guy – until 25 or 26 years old when they can really sustain playing in the NBA that 35 minutes per game and be able to bring it every single night. …The versatility that he’s going to bring in the future is going to be off the charts. But he’s just not there yet.”

Rambis did give more time Saturday to New York’s other rookie, Jerian Grant, who scored three points with two assists in 17 minutes. It was the longest Grant played since Rambis took over for Derek Fisher.  

Tags:
kurt rambis ,
kristaps porzingis ,
new york knicks

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