The Boston Celtics saw that Kristaps Porzingis had reached the end of his glory days last season. He isn’t a bad player by any means, but after yet another injury-riddled season where he posted his worst box-score output since his Knicks days, the Celtics were happy to dump him for essentially nothing this season.
Porrzingis has been a good addition overall to a Hawks team that had just five playoff-caliber players last year. And the Hawks got him for an absolute bargain, which sweetens the deal. But at the end of the day, Porzingis isn’t the player he once was.
He’s played in 12 of 22 possible games this season, just 55% of games. While on the court, he’s looked unusually sluggish, which has exacerbated Atlanta’s woes in areas of the game that depend on hustle: rebounding and transition defense. He’s also in the midst of a down year from behind the arc, posting just a 33.9% three point clip. Onyeka Okongwu has played better, is more available, and is a better fit than Porzingis, yet rides the bench due to senority.
Porzingis is a bench veteran, but he still has room on this Atlanta squad
There were other factors involved in Porzingis’s departure, no doubt. The Celtics lost Jayson Tatum for presumably the whole season after he tore his Achilles tendon last postseason (although his social media presence indicates he could be closer to returning than expected). With Tatum out, the Celtics opted to get below the second apron and enter a mini-rebuild, similar to the 2020-21 Warriors without Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.
But if the Celtics truly valued Porzingis, they would’ve found a way to keep him.
Porzingis is set to miss his fourth consecutive game to injury on Wednesday, bringing his total games played to 52.1%. At a certain point, the lack of continuity alone from Porzingis demands that he be benched. The Hawks have already struggled to find an identity without Trae Young. How are they supposed to find a rhythm when, on top of their offensive leader being sidelined, their starting center is a coin flip between two polar opposite archetypes of big men?
Porzingis was the perfect addition to this team on paper, but at this point, an on-paper representation of KP doesn’t grasp the full picture of who he is on the floor. If he’s healthy and firing on all cylinders in the playoffs, he will be a critical part of any run Atlanta makes this season.
But can we expect him to be at 100% – or even 80% – in five months? The Hawks have to build their team going forward with the understanding that Porzingis could miss the entire postseason or play at a level that actively hurts the team.