But here's the point of contention with that, I think: if a situation is more common than not, perhaps - some might even say by definition - we should consider that it isn't an exception to the rule.
edit: The Ringer's new rankings are up. White comes in at 56:
https://nbarankings.theringer.com/
For anyone that doesn't want to give Simmons & co. more traffic:
Tatum - 5
Jaylen - 22
Jrue - 37
White - 56
Kristaps - 59
Horford - 82
Porzingis down low again at 59. I am shocked he is low on each one of these rankings. I would expect him to be in the 30s. This is the 3rd one now.
Smart came in at 69.
Yeah, if KP plays like last year, he's a top-30 player. I assume rankings are taking health concerns and lack of winning into account, but he's got all-star talent.
Watching preseason he's been really efficient and comfortable with Tatum/brown. Almost like every shot he's taken is wide open.
That pick and pop has been unstoppable
He may just be victim of playing on a poor team last year and his injury history
I thought last year was the best year of Porzingis' career. I also thought he played some of his best basketball on the Knicks when they were bad. And that he was more up and down / inconsistent when on a good team in Dallas.
So I have the opposite viewpoint on Porzingis. Not a victim of being on a bad team but someone who does better on bad teams and worse on good teams. How does this work?
Essentially, you are the man and everything runs through you. For some players, particularly those with a low BBIQ which I consider Porzingis to have, this simplifies the game for them. It also gives them a more consistently high number touches and shot attempts. It builds an offense around their strengths rather than asking them to adapt and fit in around other people.
Now, Porzingis is back on a good team and we will see how that viewpoint measures up. Whether it is wrong or not.
I would add, a lot of these shot attempts that Porzingis has looked so good at taking here in Boston where also the same types of looks he was able to get in Dallas next to Luka. There were times when they looked fantastic together but those times did not last.
Will it be different in Boston? Hopefully.
Will Boston's more spread out offense be a difference maker vs more individualist Mavs offense based around Luka? Hopefully.
I love Porzingis skill-set but I have long considered him a stupid player. As evidenced by his low assist numbers. His self-absorbed style of offense. His inability to find good shots within the offense when the offense is not built around him. How often he becomes peripheral on offense and ends up just standing around (all the way back to his early years in Spain right through his NBA career). I have also viewed him as an underachiever both on defense & rebounding wise while failing to understand both to importance of each of these as well as his own individual capacity to be a game changer for his team in these areas. So I don't like his BBIQ.
Fitting in and adapting to a team is about skill-set and BBIQ. He has always had the skill-set. He wasn't able to make it work in Dallas. Hopefully it will be different here.
