Hawks may have quietly revealed a big Kristaps Porzingis development

Kristaps Porzingis was benched in favor of Onyeka Okongwu for the first time this season at the Atlanta Hawks’ last game before their quarter-season mini-break. This was just the second time Porzingis has been benched in his career, per Soaring Down South’s Brad Rowland.

While the reasoning for the demotion makes sense at first glance, Snyder’s rationale doesn’t quite add up. Porzingis was on a minute restriction, but he has been for most of the season. He played just a minute less than he had in his last game, when he was a starter. It is typical for the seven-footer to play a “bench workload” while starting at this point in his career; he has the sixth-highest minutes per game for the Hawks and was fifth-highest last season for the Celtics.

What is atypical, even coming off an injury, is benching Porzingis. If anything, a starting role should actually increase the amount of playing time he can log, as the rest periods between playing stints increase. 

Snyder tested the waters in Atlanta’s match against Denver

Atlanta resumes its schedule on Friday with a highly anticipated matchup against the Pistons. Porzingis is out with an illness, which delays us from finding out whether there was anything long-term behind the move to bench their star center.

Snyder would be wise to explore bringing Porzingis off the bench. His fit alongside Jalen Johnson is questionable at best, as Johnson’s newly minted star status has forced him to shift his efforts towards the offensive side. 

Porzingis’s dream fit is alongside a mobile center-sized player. Thankfully, the Hawks have two players who fit this bill: Onyeka Okongwu and Mouhamed Gueye.

The double-center lineup of Okongwu and Porzingis is a match made in heaven for both players. Okongwu is strong, mobile, and hustles hard, but he is one of the shortest centers in the NBA. Having a 7’2 unicorn to help him against the tallest players in the league is the perfect way to maximize OO. Likewise, Porzingis struggles to move in space and with stronger defenders, which allows Okongwu to cover for him. The team plays better on both ends of the court with the double big lineup (adjusting for three point shooting luck).

The offense has struggled when Gueye and Porzingis are on the floor together, and Gueye needs to improve his positioning when playing with a high-post threat like Porzingis. This lineup is a defensive monster, however, as Porzingis can wall off the rim and Gueye can play free safety, rotating to stop any penetration before it can reach Porzingis.

It just makes more sense for Porzingis to come off the bench. Let him be the star of a second unit that features sharpshooters Vit Krejci and Luke Kennard, who create space for the big man to operate in. Minimize the minutes he has to play against a ball-dominant guard such as Steph Curry, whose mere presence on the floor forces Porzingis to overextend and allow easy paint looks.

Of course, he has to be willing to accept this role. Porzingis doesn't appear to have the irrational pride some former top-five picks have, I have faith he'd be willing to fall back into a smaller role with minimal chemistry issues.