No, it was not all sun, sand and surf for rookie Kristaps Porzingis on his four-day jaunt to the Bahamas during the All-Star break.
In fact, it wasn’t relaxing at all as he picked a spot overrun by New Yorkers who recognized the 7-foot-3 tourist from Latvia. And everyone wanted a photo. Even those who didn’t know who he was.
“I was in a regular hotel and everything was together like [in] the restaurant and there were a lot of people coming up to me,’’ Porzingis said after the Knicks’ first post-break practice. “I appreciate all the love and everything. But it was hard just to relax.
“This just showed me that I’m not a normal person anymore, especially when there a lot of people who recognize you, a lot of people who want to take pictures because I’m tall,’’ Porzingis added. “I can’t really hide it. That’s a problem. I have to change plans from now on.’’
Indeed, Porzingis may have to choose a more remote Caribbean location next time, as he just wanted a breather from the chaos that followed him to Toronto for the Rising Stars Challenge last Friday when he scored 30 points. Porzingis was smiling as he retold this adventure.
“I was thinking I’m going to go there, I’m going to relax, nobody is going to bother me because I’m on vacation,’’ Porzingis said. “No. That didn’t happen. That’s what I’m going to have to deal with for the rest of my life.”
How about wearing sunglasses and a hat?
“And then cut my legs off,’’ Porzingis joked.
Porzingis, in the running for Rookie of the Year as a 3-point shooting shot-blocker, said he was actually glad to get back to town Tuesday and head to Tarrytown.
“I wanted to get back to New York and home, ’’ Porzingis said. “I love the game so much, I wanted to get back on the court immediately. So I’m glad to be back on the floor and practicing again. I did [come to the facility] when I got back yesterday. I was like I need to go to my church. This is my church. So I came here, got some shots up by myself, moved around. No noise. No nothing.’’
Knicks president Phil Jackson noticed Porzingis had become fatigued in the few weeks leading up to the break, saying it showed in his shooting form. The Knicks will need a dynamic Porzingis to have any shot at making the playoffs. They are five games out of the East’s eighth seed.
“It’s been ups and downs,’’ Porzingis said. “Coach [Derek Fisher] got fired. My own performances have been good, bad. Trying to find that consistency. I think that will help the team to find a better rhythm and consistency where they can trust me every game. I think we’re growing as a team, but this last stretch wasn’t too successful for us. We weren’t playing well. Now we want to find a way to win games again like the way we played the first 40 games. Now we have a new coach.
“We know we need to change. It’s on us now to play our game. Everybody I think is going to raise the level. But we got to be the ones who want it more. We have to go for it.’’