Everyone has that one friend who finds a play in NBA 2K or Madden or any other sports video game that works – and then they won’t run anything else for the entire game. The frustration builds, and eventually, you just end up throwing your controller across the room.
That’s what the Boston Celtics did against the Detroit Pistons, and it was one of the reasons they were able to dig themselves out of a 21-point hole against the worst team in basketball.
The play they decided to spam? Kristaps Porzingis in the post.
Any time the possession allowed for it, Porzingis would set a screen for the ball-handler, draw a mismatch, and bully his way into a bucket from the high post. Between Jaden Ivey, Cade Cunningham, and Bojan Bogdanovic, at least 10 metaphorical controllers had to have been smashed on Thursday night.
“KP did a great job getting to his spot,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said after the game. “Forcing the crossmatch. Forcing mismatches Getting to the nail. Doing what he’s done best for a long time.”
Porzingis finished the night with a team-high (and season-high) 35 points to go along with eight rebounds, one assist, and one steal while shooting 13-of-21 from the floor and 3-of-9 from behind the three-point line.
At 7-foot-3, Porzingis’ size gives him an immediate advantage, and once he gets to his spot, defenses are toast. He simply rises up, swipes his hands through the defender’s reach, and either draws a foul or nails a jumper (or both). Porzingis shot 5-of-6 on turnaround jump shots against the Pistons.
Detroit, who has now lost a record 28 games in a row, came out firing to start the game and was up by 19 at halftime. And while the Celtics are currently the best team in basketball, the Pistons’ franticness caught them sleeping.
“They came out very aggressive,” said Porzingis. “Very desperate. And honestly, it’s tough to play against a team like that. They almost have nothing to lose.”
By the half, Cunningham had 22 points and was getting whatever he wanted at the rim, and the Celtics were shooting 4-of-24 (16.7%) from three-point range.
But they didn’t get discouraged.
“I think we all just kind of looked at each other. Joe came in and we knew,” Porzingis said. “We knew without words even being said. We had to come out with a different kind of mindset. A different kind of energy in the second. And have each other’s backs and trust each other. Joe said the right words for us, and that was it.”
Porzingis had 29 of his 35 points in the second half and overtime, leading the Celtics’ charge as they squashed the Pistons’ hopes of crawling out of the defeat-infested hole they’ve dug for the past two months.
Instead, the hole was expanded to 28 feet, and Porzingis was the driving force.
“That’s becoming what we’ve talked about with our team – success looks different on every night,” said Mazzulla.
And against the Pistons, success was personified by an extremely tall Latvian man who hasn’t wiped the grin off his face since he moved to Boston.
