Kristaps Porzingis is the best he’s ever been

Kristaps Porzingis is the best he’s ever been

Every single year NBA fans and media are thrown into an uproar when the allstar teams are announced and inevitably someone is snubbed this year the people’s ey was directed at Trey Young’s exclusion which was unprecedented given his scoring and playmaking production but when he was later led into the game

As an alternate nobody else claimed the outrage mantle I was still displeased though if not all that surprised with one exclusion out east Kristof porzingis and maybe KP doesn’t fit the prototypical allstar snubs profile in terms of Gody raw production but when you consider efficiency defensive impact and major contributions to winning he

Clearly deserved to be an All-Star this year porzingis has had moments where he was more in the National Spotlight his New York days when he was first traded to Dallas to pair up with Luca but he has never played better basketball than he is right now the signs were all there

Last season porzingis set a career high in points per game on what was easily his career best efficiency while having an excellent bounceback defensive season and in terms of athleticism and health he clearly looked the best that he had since his New York days people just didn’t really care because he was doing

It in Washington but I loved Boston’s move to ad KP because dropped that same player on a contending team and he is a GameChanger offensively porzingis has been an incredible play finisher this year in fact he’s tied for the most efficient 20 point per game scorer in

The league and in that role he has been at his absolute best brutalizing mismatches out of the post KP took a big step forward as a postup player last year but this season he’s averaging 1.41 points per post up easily the best number of any volume post score in the

League like it’s actually mindboggling there’s hardly a more efficient shot in all of basketball than a porzingis postup mostly because of his combination of elite size and Elite jump shooting you’ve got three dudes in the vicinity on a KP turn around that’s cool but his release point is so high it really

Doesn’t matter porzingis has shot an obscene 63% on turnarounds this season meaning if you can just get him the ball in the post with a smaller player switched onto him that shot has been like a layup he’s also extremely fluid spinning either direction and his post footwork in balance is consistently

Impressive but along with his phenomenal shooting a big part of what’s made porzingis more efficient is an increased physicality out of the post in Dallas KP was more easily moved off his spots and more prone to settling for longer turnaround jumpers which was frustrating when he had such clear physical

Advantages it’s rarer now that you see KP immediately settle for a turnaround off the catch if he hasn’t already fought for really good position he’ll more often use physicality to clear out space look at how he moves Burks like 4 feet here creates space with a bump and

Now this is automatic and those few feet matter KP is shooting 55% from inside the paint but outside the restricted area this season compared to just 37% on twos from at least 16 ft out and he’s taking fewer long twos than ever before and the reward for that increased

Physicality isn’t just better shot quality it also means a whole lot more free throws porzingis is getting fouled at twice the rate on post-ups this season that he was in his Dallas years he keeps fighting for position here while the Celtics work to get the right passing angle and then buries Murray who

Just can’t compete climbing the ladder and has to foul the Celtics were able to hunt this matchup throughout their game against Denver this off ball screen forces the switch and Murray tries to just play the ball here but he has no chance later he tries to front and even

As Gordon arrives for help porzingis pump fakes him into two free throws and it’s not like Jamal Murray is your typical small guard he’s 6’4 2115 and a good athlete but he’s the smallest dude on the floor and whoever that is KP is going to be able to punish him po zingis

Is specifically quite good at drawing fouls on jumpers he’s extremely comfortable turning into face ups and nailing these looks even with no airspace which players aren’t really used to defending so we’ll often get the call on some body contact most players would have to actually Fade Away here to

Have enough space but kp’s height is the separation he needs and sabonis infringes on his Landing space and kp’s got some great body control for his size that allows him to finish the shot through these fouls so he’s a shot making and foul drawing monster and he’s performed well against every coverage

He’s seen this year he’s such a jump shooting machine that you want to try to deny him the ball but he’s a massive Target against fronts and you certainly can’t try it without help but if that help is there KP hasn’t been easily rattled off the catch this year watch

How he scans the floor keeping the ball high and hits white on the money this is a tough catch up against the Baseline but he quickly whips this over to the corner you think the move is to make KP beat you as a passer because that’s historically been the right strategy but

Over for a smallish sample size the Celtics have actually been just as efficient on KP post-ups when teams double him I wouldn’t call KP a good passer he can struggle with accuracy and forecast his reads but he’s been more composed and decisive this year and more importantly he has really good shooting

Good athletes ball handlers and Playmakers around him everywhere so because of the talent around him doubling KP presents a whole lot of its own problems kp’s post- Wizardry has been the most outstanding aspect of his scoring Arsenal but overall he is really the perfect complimentary piece in Boston when you already have multiple

Perimeter players who can handle run pick and roll and shoot pull-up jumpers on the floor at all times having an athletic floor spacing big who won’t ever try to do too much and never sucks up ball stopping possessions is ideal and that’s KP in a nutshell he’s been

Extremely efficient out of pick and roll he’s one of the most lethal picking pot bigs in basketball shooting 38% on nearly five catch and shoot threes per game KP has a lot of value as a floor spacer especially because his shot is so hard to affect at his height and he can

Shoot from so far out he’s taking one three a game from 28 ft or deeper and making 41% of them this season so even if he doesn’t touch the ball he demands defensive attention that gives his teammates cleaner driving Lanes bam can’t abandon KP to get in front of

White and challenge this drive so it’s an easy layup here Miami switches because bam guards so well in space but High Smith has to stay attached to KP so it still results in a true one-on-one for a very good scoring Wing KP is also a very effective roller and he’s been

Doing so more this year attempting a career-high 25% of his shots at The Rim up from just under 177% last year he is a massive Target and a fluid athlete who can climb the ladder at 7’3 and look at the reach here Boston really has an

Embarrassment of riches and KP is one of the most distinct because his game complements that of their many ball handlers so seamlessly he’s yet another reason it’s hard to help on any Boston Drive they have awesome Shooters everywhere along with good athletes who often demand help as they get downhill

And Beyond Simple spot UPS KP is a really instinctive off ball player moving to open space the second he identifies help coming to Horford he cuts for an easy bucket at times the Celtics will even run him through off ball screens Derek white sits a screen

For him to get an open cut and that’s even more unicorn stuff it’s also important to note how KP differs from the rest of the Celtics offensively Boston is oozing with talent but they’ve struggled at times with halfcourt offensive execution in the clutch settling too often for pullup or one

Pass catch and shoot threes or succumbing to turnovers from their Star Wings well in the clutch KP is a walking post mismatch who you can throw the ball to at any time for efficient offense and he attacks on the interior run pick and roll with him down the stretch and force

Defenses to choose run drop and concede a pick and pop three to a really good shooter switch and allow the most efficient post scorer in the NBA to attack a mismatch he’s a weapon who presents a problem no matter what introducing a distinct star like that makes a huge difference he adds New

Dimensions to this offense of course it’s going to come down to Tatum delivering in the clutch for them in the playoffs but over a small sample size this year KP has been their leading clutch scorer on absurd efficiency and I hope he can break some of their luls so

KP unlocks so much for Boston compared to a conventional five does offensively but he’s been outstanding defensively too of the 50 players to defend the most shots at The Rim nobody has held opposing players to a lower field goal percentage there than Rudy goar the consensus defensive player of the year

But right on his tail in second place is Kristof porzingis KP normally sits in a conventional drop coverage where his exceptional size and length 7’3 with a 76 wingspan makes him very difficult for players to finish around if he just challenges them vertically his wingspan also allows him to affect some of those

Mid-range and floater looks and generally makes him a very effective help Defender where he also plays with good instincts and effort and he’s a real deterrent who can make players Force passes out rather than challenge him but kp’s capable guarding in space too he’s no statue he can pretty fluidly

Flip his hips to keep up with drivers and has the luxury of being able to play off some and still challenge jump shots because of his exceptional length his back foot is on the free throw line here and he takes off to block this three he’s not a perfect Defender he’s not

Elite in terms of Versatility and really physical players can win against him although his length is often still a disruptor but he’s done his job really well and is a key part of an elite defensive machine the Celtics are third in defensive rating and particularly specialized in taking away the rim and

Forcing offenses into those tougher mid-range looks of course their outstanding perimeter Defenders are a big part of that but so is KP I’m just not sure how he could be doing his job like any better and when I look look at some of the allstars selected above him

I do not think they’ve been as impactful to winning I know Julius randle’s volume stats look better but he’s a ball stopping below average efficiency scorer who doesn’t have nearly kp’s defensive impact poo bonero is awesome for a second-year player but the magic are a playoff team because of a great team

Defense that he’s just a small part of their offense has struggled Orlando Rags 24th an offensive rating and as a number one option Pao has been up there for the least efficient star in the league and has been an jump shooter whose team has been nine points per 100 possessions

Better when he sits Scotty Barnes is playing so well but he’s also struggled with efficiency and is on a really bad team not to mention he’s not even out scoring KP despite being a number one option all those guys have the raw numbers but they also all have major

Flaws whereas KP is doing his job and a very unique job at that damn near perfectly for a dominant team and KP last year was scoring more than two of those guys are this year way more efficiently with real plus defense and got no Allstar looks because his team

Sucked but they sucked less than Scotty’s team does right now his raw numbers are down a little bit this year but he’s scoring more efficiently with better defense on The Runaway best team in the league and he still doesn’t get acknowledged if I wanted to build a winning basketball team this year forget

What Paulo and Scotty will be because I do think that aura and projection influences these selections there’s no question I’d take KP over all those guys and although I think Jaylen Brown deserved to be an All-Star no matter what kp’s been the second best Celtic over him too what brown does athletic

Wing Bucket getter who does so with mediocre efficiency and below average playmaking is just more replaceable than 73 great shooter who is the most efficient post scorer in the league fits in perfectly everywhere offensively and is an elite rim protector that’s not knocking Brown KP is just a very rare

Breed porzingis came into the lead League booed by his own team’s fans then proclaimed a unicorn and future Superstar then injured traded and ultimately deemed a disappointment it’s been quite a ride and honestly Dallas KP frustrated me but this is a different man this is a healthy veteran who’s

Grown into his game and been put into a situation where he can Channel all his skills toward trying to win a damn ring and he’s delivering and if Boston gets the job done even though KP wasn’t an All-Star he’ll have something a little better

Kristaps Porzingis has been everything the Boston Celtics hoped for and more this season — a dominant mismatch attacker out of the post, elite floor spacer and standout rim protector. Yet as the NBA hosts its all-star weekend, Porzingis is noticeably absent — which shouldn’t be the case.

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