Since returning from his “viral illness” Kristaps Porzingis has been dominant, averaging 25.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.3 block per game on 61% from the field over three games since his return. He has been absolutely dominating in the two-point area, hitting 79% of his shots inside the arc.
In the Celtics win on March 15th over the Nets, Porzingis scored 24 points while going 8/9 in the two-point area. In Boston’s win on Tuesday over Brooklyn, KP scored 25 points while going, yet again, 8/9 inside the arc. Finally, in Friday’s win over the Jazz, he scored 27 points while going 6/10 inside the arc; he also hit 3 three pointers in that game.
Now, neither Brooklyn nor Utah are the most imposing teams the Celtics will see in the playoffs, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be encouraged by the way Porzingis has played. He seems to be 100% after a viral infection and that is important for Boston as we head into the postseason because they will need Porzingis to play at this really high level he has been at.
Porzingis has been cutting at a very high level. Since returning, he is just 5/13 from three, so he has needed to generate baskets at the basket and his cutting has been a big part of that.
While the three pointer hasn’t been awesome since his return, Porzingis’ mid-range jumper has been money.
As you can see, a lot of those shots came off of post-ups, which Porzingis has been wildly efficient at since coming to Boston. This season, his points per possession on post-ups is at 1.20 in 123 possessions. Last season, he was at 1.30 points per possession in 185 possessions.
The Celtics will need him to play at this level if they want to go back-to-back.
The Oklahoma City and Cleveland losses proved that Boston isn’t a perfect team when Porzingis is not on the court. They missed his ability to change the way teams guard them and his rim protection in both of those losses was lacking.
With the way he puts pressure on the defense when they double Tatum or his 2-man game with Brown, the Celtics need Porzingis’ offense to be at their best.
On the other end, his rim protection changes the Celtics D. They don’t switch as much but his defensive impact has been a game changer for the Celtics. In 2,374 minutes with Porzingis off of the court, teams are shooting 53.7% from two-point range. In 1,011 minutes with KP on the court, teams are shooting 49.4%. At the rim, teams shoot 58.5% with KP on the floor this season, 8% worse than they do when he is off the floor. His impact at the rim is felt and it makes Boston’s defense that much better.
Last season, we remember Kristaps missed most of the playoffs due to multiple lower leg injuries. The Celtics won the title with him out of the lineup for 12 games during the playoffs. This year, they will need him.
