Knicks Morning News (2017.11.12)

LeBron James of the Cavaliers said Maverics Rookie Dennis Smith Jr. “should be a Knick,” reports Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

NEW YORK (AP) Kristaps Porzingis returned after a one-game absence to score 34 points, Courtney Lee added 20, and the New York Knicks beat the Sacramento Kings 118-91 on Saturday night.

Kristaps Porzingis is focusing on maintaining his physical profile this season to avoid losing weight down the stretch.

NEW YORK — Coming off their first two-game winning streak of the season, the Sacramento Kings were staring at yet another bit of fortune heading into their Saturday night showdown against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

Former NBA star and current TV analyst, Chauncey Billups, has been shadowing Knicks GM Scott Perry as he hopes to be in his position one day.

James’ latest problem with Phil Jackson is who he drafted.

Porzingis added to his legend by casually dropping 34 points.

Some players use the season get into shape and lose pounds. Kristaps Porzingis wants to make sure that doesn’t happen.

The Knicks will never have to think of what could have been. Before the Knicks altered the direction of their franchise by taking Kristaps Porzingis with the fourth-overall pick in the 2015 draft, the team was also considering drafting center Willie Cauley-Stein, who was widely considered the best defensive player available, and worked out for…

We get it, New York. You’re skeptical. As Knicks fans who have suffered through Eddy Curry and Andrea Bargnani and Alexey Shved and Jackie (Not Jimmy) Butler and a bunch of guys named Williams, you want to buy into the 7-5 start but you’re just not ready. Well, the Knicks say you can believe. They’re…

LeBron James has given the Knicks — and a certain Frenchman — some bulletin board material ahead of their Monday showdown vs. the Knicks at the Garden. After facing the Mavericks Saturday, the Cavaliers star said he was giving a headline-worthy quote when he took a swipe at Frank Ntilikina and by association former Knicks…

Even if it seems like it, Kristaps Porzingis can’t do it alone. The young superstar still has needed help morphing a season of rebuilding into a year that could see the Knicks in postseason contention. From the shadows, Courtney Lee has become one of Porzingis’ best sidekicks. A franchise so excited for what the future…

Kristaps Porzingis was assuredly headed for another career-high when Jeff Hornacek showed mercy on Sacramento and gave the 7-foot-3 Latvian an early hook. In an effortless performance, Porzingis probably could have made it to 50, but Hornacek pulled him with 2:53 left in the third quarter after he notched 34 points in 27 minutes in…

Mindaugas Kuzminskas says he’ll have “a sleepless’’ night as he awaits the Knicks’ decision on who goes or stays. If the Knicks can’t make a trade, say getting a late first-rounder for backup center Kyle O’Quinn, the two likely candidates to be waived Sunday to make room for Joakim Noah’s return from drug suspension is…

Frank Ntilikina has looked better than a 19-year-old rookie is supposed to look. Less than one month into his NBA career, the young Frenchman already appears comfortable with his new team in a new league in a new country. After battling minor injuries at the beginning of the season, Ntilikina, the eighth overall pick, has…

It’s going so grandly for Kristaps Porzingis, emerging as a longshot MVP candidate, a no-brainer as a first-time All-Star and an early lock for Most Improved Player award. All those bad thoughts Porzingis carried from last season are evaporating. If you recall, Janis Porzingis, Kristaps’ agent/brother, was most concerned that Porzingis’ game didn’t develop last…

After missing a game because of injuries, Kristaps Porzingis led the Knicks to their fourth consecutive win at Madison Square Garden.

The opening of Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena has been followed by a succession of not-so-enormous basketball crowds.

Kristaps Porzingis, Jeff Hornacek keys to Knicks’ fast start

LeBron: Mavs’ Smith Jr. ‘should be a Knick’

The final 15 minutes or so of the Knicks’ victory over the Kings on Saturday night was the “garbage time” at the end of a blowout. And while no one had more to do with making it so than Kristaps Porzingis, this was no solo performance.

Dirk Nowitzki takes no credit for Kristaps Porzingis’ record-setting start this season.

There’s always been an element of the fantastic when it comes to Kristaps Porzingis. From a child at the Garden crying when he was drafted to Warriors star Kevin Durant dubbing him a basketball unicorn, the Legend of the Latvian has grown by incremental leaps since he first put on a Knicks jersey.

Mindaugas Kuzminskas is fully aware that he might not be a New York Knick by Sunday afternoon, that Joakim Noah’s return from a PED suspension might mean he will get traded or waived after playing only two minutes in the first 11 games. And frankly, he doesn’t seem all that happy about it.

Less has been more for the Knicks this season.