The Two Underrated Effects That Porzingis Is Having On The Celtics
The Celtics have wasted no time building on their 2022-23 season, and have rattled off three impressive wins to get started with their 2023 campaign. New addition Kristaps Porzingis has been a big part of this, and has been instrumental in this opening set, an opening set that interestingly had him go up against former teams in two of the three games. Beyond the obvious presence of an additional scorer and big, here's what Porzingis is doing for the team that can propagate throughout the whole season.
An Unexpected Distributor
Last year, in Robert Williams, the Celtics had a much more traditional presence at center. Williams was a threat under the hoop, as a shot blocker, rebounder and scorer. Porzingis bucks the traditional role, and while he excels in the interior, also can play outside, and can shoot quite well. One of his underrated abilities, however, is his distribution.
Kristaps isn't going to come out of nowhere and generate triple-doubles every game Nikola Jokic style. However, he has the court vision to make passes both from outside the paint and under the hoop. Against the Wizards, he had a couple of excellent assists that really opened up the floor. More than just assists, however, he's excellent at making what I call penultimate passes, passes that lead to assists or push along the possession well.
This threat is driven by his court vision, one of his best attributes, as well as his quicker-than-expected analytical and reactive ability. This has two positives - it opens up the floor in a way that is hard for defenses to anticipate and game plan for, and it increases Porzingis' individual threat and opens up opportunities to make more scoring/rebounding plays.
Misdirection Away From The All-Stars
Having a player who can shoot, rebound, pass, and defend/block is a luxury. It's difficult for defenses to plan for because his unpredictability becomes a tremendous strength here, and ends up drawing lots of defensive attention.
The problem with giving him lots of attention is that the Celtics already have two guys in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown that defenses can't keep their eyes off. Porzingis is already starting to opening things up for both, and yesterday, this was extremely evident - Tatum and Brown were more open than I've seen them in years, and reaped the benefits of it, both scoring 30+ in just three quarters of action.
Having a third significant playmaking threat is having immediate effects, and from both Porzingis and Holiday, they're misdirecting attention from the Jays. This goes the other way too - the attention that Brown, Tatum, and Holiday get opens up opportunities for Porzingis to make plays. This is a luxury he didn't have in Washington, and will enable him to be a bigger threat.
Another Celtic that can make big plays in big moments will be welcome in the playoffs, and with only three games elapsed, the Celtics and Porzingis will achieve even more chemistry down the stretch.
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