The Celtics have given Kristaps Porzingis a unicorn-sized stage, and he’s enjoying it ‘like crazy’
The 7-foot-2 center, nicknamed "The Unicorn," has paired well with the league's winningest franchise.
It’s obvious that Kristaps Porzingis enjoys playing in Boston.
From his WWE-style entrances in the playoffs to the moment last week when he slapped hands with a fan and raised his arms to pump up the crowd after a foul, Porzingis always seems to be wearing a smile along with his Celtic green jersey.
“Honestly, it’s just natural. When I got here, the fans showed me a lot of love from the first moment,” Porzingis said. “Obviously the success that we’re having as a team is helping, and I know that if I have a moment like that in a game especially that crowd sitting on the baseline, they’re always super engaged. So, you’ve got to enjoy those moments.”
Porzingis no stranger to big stages. He played professional basketball in Spain as a teenager. He began his NBA career in New York City after being drafted by the Knicks in 2015. Then, he went to Dallas and played with Luka Doncic. His last stop before the Celtics traded for him was in the nation’s capital, Washington D.C., with the Wizards.
But, there’s no basketball team quite like the Celtics, who have an NBA-record 18 titles. The other stops were fun, Porzingis said, but Boston is where he became an NBA champion.
The 7-foot-2 center, nicknamed “The Unicorn” for his unique skill-set, now plays for the unicorn of NBA franchises. It has helped him rediscover the joy that he once lost playing elsewhere, he said.
“I definitely enjoy playing here like crazy,” Porzingis said. “But, I would say I had a lot of fun in Washington too. Even though we weren’t winning I really enjoyed my time there. I always enjoy playing for the [Latvian] national team. A lot of joy there because you’re not forced there because you want – it’s a different vibe.”
“I also had some good years in Spain too. Of course my time in Dallas was a bit more like grinding my teeth and then trying to get that joy. But also in New York, I’ve always just enjoyed basketball. Maybe I lost it a little bit in Dallas, and then in Washington nobody really paid attention but I was having a lot of fun.”
“Obviously, now you guys see me smiling and happy but I would say this is how I’ve been most of my career. It’s just now that I’m on a bigger stage and everybody can see how I play and how I enjoy the game.”
Porzinzgis’s versatility is what makes him unique. There are plenty of tall players in the NBA. Virtually every team has at least one 7-footer.
There are also plenty of good 3-point shooters. Every player in the Celtics’ starting-five, including Porzingis, has shot 36 percent or better over the course of their respective careers.
But, how many 7-foot-2 players are there that can pull up from beyond the arc with Porzingis’s combination of confidence, accuracy, and range? And how many of them score on more than 60 percent of their post-ups the way Porzingis did last season?
Porzingis has a small sample-size to work with this season, having missed all but six games so far, but he’s sixth in the league in scoring frequency off of post-ups, which is the percentage of plays where a player or team scores at least 1 point on such attempts. He was 11th last year, and has been in the top-16 each of the last four seasons.
“He’s a matchup problem,” Payton Pritchard said. “Because if you switch him, we always tell him that if he gets two feet in the paint and you throw it to him in the paint, it’s almost automatic. You’ve got to foul him. And obviously if a big is guarding him and he’s on the perimeter you have to guard him from way out.”
“What does that do for us? The driving lanes are open. There’s no rim protection. Obviously, that’s a big problem with the guards we have. Him and Al [Horford] open up the game for us so much the way they space the floor. So, it is huge and it’s why he’s been a tremendous player.”
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said Porzingis’s presence in the post is a game-changer.
“It just changes the frequency of the game,” Mazzulla said. “You just work to get baskets in a different way, especially against the different coverages … to have that post presence where you can get different looks is important for us.”
Porzingis has been effective and efficient when healthy, but injuries have also consistently been a part of his story. He missed nearly a third of the regular-season last year, along with most of the playoffs. He has already missed more than a month this season while recovering from off-season ankle surgery.
His conditioning is not 100 percent yet, but it’s “getting there,” he said.
“I’m always better when I’m in a rhythm of games,” Porzingis said. “We’ve had three days off, so it’s almost like it takes me one game to get back, open up my lungs a little bit more. During the summer I had like three months without being able to really be able to go up and down and really get some good cardio in. That also plays a role, obviously. I think a couple more games and I’ll be where I need to be.”
Pistons coach JB Bickerstaff called these Celtics one of the more unselfish teams that he has seen. Mazzulla said that’s because they know how to control their egos and put them in the proper place.
Porzingis took 13.2 field-goal attempts per game last season, which was the lowest since his rookie year. He still averaged 20.1 points per game. This year, his touches are closer to his career-average of 15.1.
But, on this team, winning seems to matter more than individual stats and that’s a key piece that has set the defending champions apart.
“As a player, you always want more shots, more minutes, more role,” Porzingis said. “I think everybody feels like that all the time. It’s just a matter of us controlling our own egos and stuff and playing as a team. I don’t know if it’s something I enjoy. I’d rather shoot 40 shots, you know what I mean?”
“But, of course, it’s a privilege that we have such a talented team. We have, I don’t know how many guys, that can score 20 and it will not be a surprise. So, it’s a big privilege that we have and that’s why this team is who we are.”
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com