The Celtics had no easy fix to replace Jayson Tatum entering their do-or-die Game 5 matchup against the Knicks on Wednesday night. Joe Mazzulla began the game by reinserting Kristaps Porzingis into the starting five in place of Tatum despite the big man’s ineffective play for much of the series due to illness.
The double big lineup with Porzingis/Horford was a strong lineup during the regular season but it had struggled to find its footing against the Knicks even before Game 5. The duo had a -9.9 net rating in 36 minutes together in the first four games of the series but Mazzulla seemed intent on giving it a shot after Porzingis said after Game 4 that he was feeling better.
The choice backfired almost immediately. Porzingis struggled with his shot again even against mismatches (0-of-3). Defensively, he failed to keep under against the Knicks speedy wings. After posting a team-worst minus-12 in the first half, Joe Mazzulla made the necessary but painful choice to sit the big man in favor of Luke Kornet.
Mazzulla explained his rationale after the Game 5 win.
“He couldn’t breathe,” Mazzulla said of Porzingis. “He was available if absolutely necessary. So that was just a decision between me and him. He was having difficulties breathing, but he wanted to be out there, and if we absolutely needed him, we would have been able to go to him and rely on him.
“But you’ve seen a lot of that this year. Changing the lineup at halftime is something that we’ve done a lot this year because it just adds a different dimension and can change some sub patterns throughout the game. So it’s a credit to the guys just buying into what gives us the best chance to win each and every night, and I know KP will be ready for us.”
Mazzulla has had a few questionable decisions in this series, including his choice to stick with Porzingis so long in Game 4. With Tatum out there, the temptation is evident with Porzingis to have another big scoring threat on the floor but Mazzulla made a tough timely decision with the big man with his season on the line.
Pulling him from the starting lineup was an easy or understandable move. Benching him entirely likely wasn’t easy but it was the right call. Porzingis is shooting just 23 percent from the field in this series and while it’s admirable he’s trying to gut things out through his mysterious illness, he’s not helping Boston at the moment.
It’s on Mazzulla to recognize that and he made the right call by pulling the plug on him and leaning heavily on Luke Kornet and Payton Pritchard instead.
“Did a great job protecting the rim, did a great job defending without fouling, did a great job on both ends of the floor,” Mazzulla said of Kornet. “I just thought his presence was good, especially on the rebounding. He had nine rebounds, two offensive ones. He made some big-time plays for us.”
Sticking with a single big around four shooters for the remainder of the entire second half once Al Horford dealt with some foul trouble was a pivotal choice as well. The move helped to juice the offense by maximizing spacing around Boston’s big, opening up easy looks from the perimeter as well as driving lanes. It also opened the door for Payton Pritchard to play big minutes, just like he did in Boston’s Game 3 win.
Mazzulla took a little while to get to the right formula in Game 5 but he ultimately produced one of Boston’s best offensive games of the year without its best player. This group will try to replicate it again in Game 6.
