It’s been a strange and winding road for Kristaps Porzingis in his NBA career thus far, but things are about to level up for both him and the Dallas Mavericks.
After initially being booed on draft night by Knicks fans in 2015, he immediately became a radiant player who thrived in the spotlight of Broadway. He was the center of the most dysfunctional organization in the sport but accepted the challenge wholeheartedly. He put up respectable numbers as a rookie and grew his confidence in his sophomore campaign (even being given the UNICORN 🦄 moniker by a fellow slim assassin, KD). It was during his third year where everything started to click for him. That is, until he suffered a terrible leg injury just as his rise had begun.
Now after a 20-month layoff and a nice sample size of games with his new squad, he is finally showing flashes of the baller Michael Rapaport playfully refers to as the “Latvian gangbanger“.
Carlisle Makes Necessary Adjustments
You can pinpoint his transformation — as well as see his additional comfort within the Mavericks schemes — to the infamous ‘Return to MSG’ game on November 14th. After the loss, Coach Rick Carlisle deciphered just how to utilize KP in order to maximize his talents.
No more would Carlisle stagger The Zinger and Sevens throughout the game. He suspected KP would be the crux of second units whenever Luka wasn’t handling the rock, similar to his role in NYC. Once he was able to see the data — especially after that second gross loss to the lowly Knicks — Carlisle has tweaked the way Kristaps flows within the half-court sets.
KP Stepping Up
In the past 15 games, Dallas has rolled off a 12-3 record. During this time, Porzi has been averaging 16.3 ppg., 9.6 rpg., 1.7 bpg., while sporting a (+/-) of +10. His stat lines haven’t changed drastically from his first 10 games, but his net rating has soared in that time, which only makes the teams stronger. And in the past two games without Dončić, he has been at his very best yet, boasting a line of 24 ppg., 13 rpg., 3 apg., 2 bpg., and 3.5 triples, on 45%/82%/41% splits, in 35 mpg.
While they lost the overtime game in Miami in heartbreaking fashion, they really had no right to even be in that game at the end after losing The Donć only one minute into the contest and being down 24 at one point. But they fought back behind KP’s stellar play and even used some of that magic on Monday night in Milwaukee, ending the Bucks’ 18-game win streak.
The Mavs are using their center in much more spot-up sets, pulling away from simply posting him in ISO and allowing the other players to watch. It wasn’t translating correctly when the numbers were crunched by their coaching and analytical staff. Since the alteration, which is still transforming his game in an overall sense, every player seems to be benefiting.
Up Next
The Mavericks finish up their pre-Xmas slate with three more Eastern conference heavyweights, hosting Boston tonight in the AAC, then visiting Philadelphia and Toronto before heading back to Big D for some time off.
While the Mavs push forward without their Wünderboy, this will be both a critical stretch for the team while also being a huge opportunity for KP to get aggressive as needed, on BOTH sides, and lead the team strongly. The starters along with their wicked bench mob (Young Stallions) has all the reason to grow without Luka Magic in their back pocket.
There is no reason Dallas can’t be hosting a first-round playoff series come this April. As always, The Diggler knows whats up.
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