Heading into the 2017-18 season, there was one question that prevailed in most Knicks-related discussions after the Carmelo Anthony trade:
Is Kristaps Porzingis good enough to be the best player on a winning team?
After two seasons playing the Robin to Carmelo’s Batman (and, arguably, regrettably, maybe playing the Jim Gordon to Melo and Derrick Rose’s Batman and Robin in that second season), Porzingis came into what was supposed to be a throwaway year with almost no real expectations for team success — wins and losses wouldn’t matter, but how KP handled the lead role was going to be scrutinized at every turn.