How Kristaps Porzingis is redefining his role in Boston’s offense

Lately, Kristaps Porzingis has been playing differently. Looking at his recent games since coming back from injury, there have been some twists in the way he plays, and in the way the offense is built around him. When the eye test says something different, it’s necessary to look for numbers to back up that feeling.

To do so, NBA tracking is a great tool. The overall feeling when watching Kristaps Porzingis’ recent performances was that he was more central to the offense — which would make sense because… he is a center.

Usually, Kristaps Porzingis has been mostly used as a finisher rather than a creator or connector. But the play below is a great example of the recent new approach to Kristaps Porzingis’ offensive role.

Before digging into the film, let’s see if the numbers back up the eye test. To get an understanding of a player’s role in an offense, the number of touches per game and passes made per game are great indicators. The more the ball goes through a player’s hands, the more involved he is in creation. In the chart below, it’s obvious that there is a new trend in Kristaps Porzingis’ usage: in March, his touches per game increased by 20% and his number of passes made by 28%.

Now, let’s look back at the previous play to dissect why it’s a demonstration of Kristaps Porzingis’ new offensive role.

To start the action, Derrick White has the ball and Jaylen Brown comes to set a screen with Kristaps Porzingis. At first, it looks like a play where both Brown and Porzingis are setting screens for White, or a double drag action. As the play starts, Brown indicates to White that the ball is to be passed to Porzingis.

Right after that, Brown goes around Jake LaRavia and traps him on his back, so he is ready to cut as soon as Porzingis receives the ball.

Unfortunately, Porzingis isn’t able to send the rock to Brown, but the play has a second route: a White curl. As Porzingis catches it, White goes around him and cuts. However, Sacramento’s switch defense takes away that cut, too.

But the Celtics are resourceful, and these first movements have already created an advantage now that Porzingis is guarded by Markelle Fultz. Porzingis moves to the side and engages with Baylor Scheierman in a handoff action. This gives him an opportunity to roll close to the rim.

While this happens, Derrick White relocates to the corner and creates space for Porzingis in the paint. Due to Trey Lyles’ size, the rookie cannot reach Porzingis, who then sends the ball to White, and he connects with the big man.

Once Porzingis has the ball near the rim, it’s over for the Sacramento Kings’ defense. This play is the first example of Kristaps Porzingis’ offensive hub potential. With his gravity, he takes away the rim protection. With cuts and movement around him, opponents are forced to concede gaps or break their defensive shell structure. In this play, Porzingis was both a creator and a finisher, showing the versatility of his game.

Another play stood out to me during the last game against Sacramento. On this one, Porzingis isn’t involved from the start with the ball — but it’s what he did once he got the ball that felt different.

Usually, from this position and beyond, Porzingis pulls the trigger without hesitation. Here, he fakes Jonas Valanciunas, drives, and gathers the ball quickly to freeze the defense. Because he gets into his shooting motion, it triggers the help, and he swings the ball to Baylor Scheierman.

This drive and kick totally break the Kings’ defensive shell and force them to rotate and run after the ball. At the end of the play, Kristaps Porzingis is able to draw a foul. These first two illustrations came from the middle of the court, but there has also been some interesting development with Porzingis on the sides.

In the next two plays, what struck me as a change was Porzingis’ movement in these situations. Here, against Sacramento again, he moves as soon as he receives the ball and engages in a handoff with Jayson Tatum. This triggers the defense to collapse around him to take away the two-man game, but Jayson Tatum cuts and Porzingis finds him with a gorgeous dish.

There were some flashes of these actions earlier in the season, but it should be used more, because it’s deadly. Teams are willing to take risks so Tatum doesn’t have the ball, so moves like this one could cause a lot of damage, as teams could get caught like they did here. Against the Kings again, this drive felt different, and Porzingis’ aggressiveness was obvious.

Kristaps sets a pindown screen for Jaylen Brown. Because the Kings want to contain the drive and contest a potential catch-and-shoot, Zach LaVine goes above the screen and Domantas Sabonis stays low. Tatum passes the ball to Porzingis, who once again fakes the opponent’s big man. As he catches the ball, it seems Sabonis’ feet aren’t set and that his body is too upright to contain a drive.

He waits just long enough for Sabonis’ defensive position to be as bad as possible (legs straight, arms up and off the ground) and drives to his left. Because the corner is empty, there is no strong-side help, and the low man is Keon Ellis, the Kings’ shortest player.

These sequences show that Porzingis can help initiate the offense, but there is also potential as a connector in the short roll or from the post-up. On this play against the Nets, Porzingis recognizes that there is a switch after the Jrue Holiday and Al Horford screen action. He calls it out to Derrick White, slides to the post-up to force the weak-side help, and as he receives the ball, immediately swings it to Horford, open in the corner.

Below is another example of give-and-go with Jrue Holiday against the Utah Jazz — one more offensive sequence that encourages the belief that Kristaps Porzingis could have a bigger offensive role, and could be more than a finisher.

One last twist Porzingis seems to have brought in the last few games, especially against the Phoenix Suns last night, is the driving. In the modern NBA, the drive is the ultimate tool to break a defense’s structure, and slowly, Porzingis is leaning into this new weapon. Porzingis won’t be a classical driver, but he can become the ultimate closeout punisher.

Like he did to Sabonis in Sacramento, Porzingis punished Kevin Durant’s aggressive closeout against the Suns with the same process. The KP shooting threat is so scary that KD overplays it.

Then, Porzingis is able to drive into the open space, and that is where his long legs are deadly. He gathers the ball with his right foot outside the paint and finishes at the rim anyway. Plus, as he is often guarded by the opponent’s center, the rim protection is weaker against his drives.

Kristaps Porzingis is no longer just a towering finisher, he’s becoming a real offensive connector, and in some sets, a hub. Whether he’s triggering cuts, punishing closeouts, or facilitating from the post, his role is clearly expanding.

This article was a bit different from my usual takeaways, If you liked this kind of breakdown (or have thoughts on KP’s new role), I’d love to hear from you in the comments.