Going into the season, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd had revealed his plans to move Porzingis to power forward, likely to unlock his potential shown early in his career in New York.
However, the young center has played in just three games before being shut down for back stiffness. Now after missing four games including the most recent loss to the Miami Heat, Jason Kidd announced the team’s plan to bring him back on Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs.
Kristaps Porzingis is “progressing” and will “hopefully” play tomorrow night vs. Spurs, Jason Kidd said. Porzingis is out for fourth straight game due to lower back stiffness.
Maxi Kleber will be out at least 7-10 days due to an oblique strain.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) November 2, 2021
Porzingis can make an immediate impact by helping the team’s rebounding totals. Since he’s been injured, the Mavericks are amongst the worse, 28th, in the League in rebounding percentage.
In the three games, Porzingis did play; he has struggled, averaging just 12.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per game with a shooting percentage of only 30.2 percent. A noticeable dip from his career averages of 18.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game on 44.0 percent shooting from the field.
For the Mavericks to take the anticipated next step towards championship contention, they’ll need Porzingis to get healthy and play well this season.
