Luke Kornet will be available for the Boston Celtics‘ tonight. He has missed the team’s opening two games against the Miami Heat due to a calf injury. Joe Mazzulla has stuck to an eight-man rotation in both contests, with Al Horford being the lone big man coming off the bench. There has been no room for Xavier Tillman or Neemias Queta.
During the season, Kornet regularly contributed to Mazzulla’s team. His size and screening ability made him the ideal non-shooting big on the perimeter, as he continually found ways to generate space for his teammates.
Kornet’s size will give Mazzulla some additional options when facing the Heat, potentially leading him to alter his playoff rotation. Should he decide to make room for Kornet, he will likely expand his selection to nine players rather than bench Payton Pritchard or Sam Hauser.
Boston will now have significant front-court size to throw at the Heat. Kornet is a reliable slip screener, which could allow the coaching staff to design some new ways to beat Erik Spoelstra’s switching system that stagnated the Celtics offense in game 2.
In a boost for the Celtics, Kornet’s availability coincides with Delon Wright’s potential absence from the Heat’s rotation, leaving them four players short heading into Saturday’s game. Miami will also be missing Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier and Josh Richardson.
With a full-strength roster, Boston will be heavily favored to secure a win over Miami and re-take control of the series. Kornet won’t be a significant momentum changer for Mazzulla’s team, but he will give them a different dimension if he’s called upon. Furthermore, he is arguably the best pick-and-roll defending big on the Celtics roster, especially when it comes to containing the ball-handler on dribble-drive penetration.
Kornet will likely have a role to play throughout the postseason. Whether that begins tonight, or later in the series will remain to be seen.
