This should have been The Luke Kornet Game.
After finding out shortly before gametime that he’d be starting against the surging Rockets, Kornet played a season-high 33 minutes and had everything going. The soft hands around the rim. Rock solid defense. And thunderous dunks, including this poster on Amen Thompson:
In arguably his most impressive start of the season, Kornet finished with eighteen points (8-for-9 from the field) with seven rebounds and helped hold Alperin Segun to just 4-of-10 from the field.
But alas, it wasn’t a spotless showing for Kornet in the Celtics’ 114-112 loss to the Rockets. Two defensive lapses in the clutch — losing Alperin Segun on a back cut and botching a switch with Jaylen Brown on the final play — tainted his otherwise nearly perfect game. In his post-game availability, the usually jovial Kornet had a more sullen demeanor and said, “it kinda played out in an unfortunate way.”
To Kornet’s credit, he’s been the epitome of the Stay Ready group this entire season. With Payton Pritchard ascending to sixth man status and Sam Hauser getting regular minutes off the bench, it’s been Kornet that has fluctuated between not playing at all and starting six games so far in the regular season.
On Monday night, he didn’t find out he was starting until right before tipoff when Al Horford didn’t feel comfortable to play after warmups. Losing Horford against an athletic and physical team like the Rockets could have meant curtains for sure — especially without Derrick White and Hauser as well — but Kornet handled himself more than admirably.
“I think that’s obviously something they do a great job of, just rebounding and defensive pressure and stuff,” Kornet said after limiting the league-leading offensive rebounding team to just twelve for the game. “I feel like that’s kind of a strength of their team and how they play, but I think for the most part, we matched their physicality well. Obviously, it was kind of a weird game in terms of them taking a lot of threes…but I thought our fire was good. I thought our intention was good. A couple of plays just came up short.”
Over the summer, Kornet signed a one-year veteran minimum contract, the very first deal reported in free agency by then ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The more than serviceable center could have presumably made more elsewhere but ultimately decided to stick around for the title defense. He filled in when Porzingis was rehabbing from surgery and never whined when Neemias Queta seemingly leapfrogged him in the rotation.
Now, this isn’t exactly something that needs to be mentioned pre-All-Star Weekend or even pre-trade deadline. It can wait until the summer when we know how the season shook out and more importantly, who’s coming back for next year. But when that gets settled and hopefully, it’s confetti and not dust, we need to have a serious conversation about Kornet and his future with the Celtics.
It’s not just about a big game here and there. He’s been a consistent contributor for his entire time in Boston and when given a bigger opportunity, he’s shined. The 29-year-old could be looking for a new team in July, but in my opinion, he’s already found a home in Boston.
