What's behind Kristaps Porzingis' incredible start?

New York Knicks fans have already showered their new hero with MVP chants, and for once they're not being sarcastic.

Kristaps Porzingis was at the charity stripe to put the finishing touches on his career-high 38-point effort Monday against the Denver Nuggets, and the MSG crowd went wild. They were watching a superstar in the making score 30 for the fifth time in the first six games of the year.

The Unicorn is averaging 27.9 points on the young season, an increase of nearly 10 points from last season. Porzingis narrowly trails two-time MVP Stephen Curry (28) for third in scoring, and is single-handedly dragging an otherwise putrid Knicks team to respectability.

What's behind Porzingis' incredible start?

Improved conditioning

More than anything else, Porzingis is scoring more because he's now able to get to his spot and hold his ground.

Porzingis trained five hours per day during the offseason to improve his strength and conditioning, according to ESPN's Ian Begley. The added bulk allows him to play more inside the paint, to gain deeper position, to better withstand contact, and to get more shots off.

The added strength unlocked a deadly face-up game out of the high post. Porzingis is playing a lot more at the elbows this season where he's able to turn toward the basket, isolate, then either hoist the jumper or take one dribble and get to the rim. He's also been able to get deeper position, especially on the right block where he can spin over his shoulder to launch a short jumper.

That simply wasn't happening last season, when Porzingis did more of his work further out and more focused along the baseline where it was easier to double him, and where he had less room to use his dribble moves as a weapon.

(Heat maps courtesy: NBA Savant)

Building up his strength has also allowed Porzingis to perform for longer stretches. He's playing more minutes than ever while also taking on a larger role. Taking a step up requires careful conditioning and smart pacing. So far, he's balanced both.

No Melo

The other major factor in Porzingis being able to play on the block and get more shots up is the departure of Carmelo Anthony.

Porzingis loved Anthony and looked toward him for mentorship during a difficult and sloppy introduction to the league. But Anthony often ended up playing in areas that overlapped with where Porzingis is now getting the ball. He would often chill along the perimeter to open the paint while Anthony jab stepped his way into a mid-range fadeaway.

Trading Anthony meant Porzingis became the Knicks' unquestioned go-to scorer. The shift in responsibilities has seen Porzingis use a league-topping 35.1 percent of the Knicks' possessions this season. That's up 11 percentage points from last season, and despite playing on a team with several shot-happy wings, no other Knick comes close to Porzingis' usage.

Porzingis also leads the league in field-goal attempts, trying 22 per game - two more than DeMarcus Cousins. The added usage also means more trips to the line, as Porzingis has nearly doubled his free-throw attempts from last season.

Ditching the shot-happy Derrick Rose for more willing passers in veteran guard Jarrett Jack and rookie Frank Ntilikina is also freeing up more shots for Porzingis. Unlike Rose, who is solely focused on getting to the rim, Jack and Ntilikina have been far more willing to defer.

Natural development

Finally, at the nimble age of 22, this could just be natural development for the young Latvian.

The talent was always obvious with Porzingis. He took the league by storm with powerful putbacks, ungodly blocks and a surprisingly slick handle from the get-go, but he's added so much to his game since he was drafted in 2015.

Here's a new one: Porzingis is driving at defenders and fooling them with clever up and under moves out of the post.

He's another: Porzingis is looking defenders dead in the eye and drilling comically deep threes from the Knicks logo.

These small improvements are adding up to a big change in his overall game. Porzingis now has a counter for most of what worked against him in his first two seasons. That development, more than anything else, will keep him among the scoring elite.

What are you going to do against a 7-foot-3 center with great hands who can handle, stretch out to 30-feet, work out of the post, spot-up around screens, quick off the dribble, and can jump out of the gym?

So far, defenses are doing nothing.