Kristaps Porzingis slotted back into the rotation so seamlessly that it was hard to remember he’d be on the shelf for so long. His presence instantly improved Boston’s rim protection. The floor spacing looked better, too, primarily because of his scoring gravity.
Everything seems to flow better when KP is on the court. There’s more room for cutters. More angles to exploit. And there are more variations of the playbook that can be toyed with. It’s been said a lot, and I beat this drum a little too much, too: Porzingis is Boston’s X-Factor.
He has it.
He brings it.
I’m not too sure what ‘it’ is, but there’s a surplus when he’s healthy, and it’s a huge part of what makes this Celtics roster look so scary.
With Porzingis back and working his way to full fitness (I’m talking about conditioning), there’s much to be excited about. We know how good this roster can be when everyone is healthy and locked in, but nothing beats living it game after game.
As with any major addition, we will likely see some changes. They might be subtle tweaks. They could be gigantic shifts. But there will be changes nonetheless. As such, here are three questions I have following KP’s return from injury.
#1 A Return to the Post?
The Celtics ranked 4th in total post-ups throughout the 2023-24 regular season. They went to the block 584 times, shooting 57.4% on 167-of-291 shooting. They also generated assists on 29.1% of those post-up possessions.
This season, the Celtics are 11th, with 99 post-up possessions — 29 of which have come from Jayson Tatum, with another 31 coming from Jaylen Brown.
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