Kristaps Porzingis has vocalized his frustration with his injury status to start this season. Even though he came back a little early from surgery rehab, he’s been in-and-out of games due to minor bumps. So it’s been difficult for him to find a consistent rhythm.
But, finally, it appears the Celtics star is finding his groove — especially to start games. In his last six games, Porzingis has averaged 9.8 points in first quarters. The efficiency has also impressed: Porzingis is making 65.6% of his shots, including 62.5% of his 3s over that stretch. It’s not a huge sample size, but it’s clear Porzingis has started strong in recent games.
“He’s just getting more comfortable,” C’s coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters after the C’s blew out the Warriors on Monday. “Obviously we want to involve him as much as we can, but I think he’s getting comfortable having an understanding of how he’s being defended, getting in a rhythm of playing consecutive games and him just getting used to being with the guys. … But I think he’s been really physical on both ends of the floor for us lately, and just his continued growth is big for us.”
Porzingis was again a force Monday as the C’s set the tone early against the shorthanded Warriors. He had eight points in his eight minutes in the opening frame, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers and two free throws. The Celtics overwhelmed the Warriors as part of a 40-point victory Monday, getting back in the win column.
Another factor for Porzingis fast starts has to do with the Celtics’ preferred starting lineup. The five-man group with Porzingis, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and Jrue Holiday has surprisingly struggled to start the year as they haven’t had many reps since last season. But that lineup has perked up recently, partially due to Porzingis feeling more like himself on the court.
“Obviously playing with each other more and more is going to help that, but I mean, we just take each game a game at a time,” Holiday said. “Sometimes we’ll either shoot well, sometimes we’ll mess up something or sometimes we’ll be great. I think right now in the middle of the season, we’re doing a good job of just doing our best to be as consistent as possible.”
The Celtics will look to string together some consistent efforts now after the blowout win Monday. A 40-point win always feels great, but the Celtics’ issue has been carrying momentum. Considering the C’s still have three more games left on this West Coast swing, they’ll be tested coming up.
“We’ve gotten better reps,” Mazzulla said of the starters. “We’ve gotten better rhythm on the offensive end of the floor, understanding each other’s space. There’s more connectivity in the defense. So I like the process of where those guys have been, even through some of the times we haven’t gotten the result we wanted. So we’ve just got to keep the focus on that.”
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