Kristaps Porzingis and his teams have had a tenuous relationship with the post up.
Porzingis personally loves the post up, and for good reason. Porzingis is not only one of the tallest basketball players alive, but also one of the best scorers at his size. These two strengths have an obvious synergy in the post, resulting in Porzingis holding the fourth-highest post up efficiency among qualifying players last season.
Porzingis, however, was not always encouraged to post up. In Dallas, Porzingis famously clashed with the Mavericks organization about his post up touches. The team argued that Porzingis's post ups were wildly inefficient compared to their usual Luka Doncic-run offense. Porzingis believed he was a skilled post player who was wasting his unique talents.
Like Porzingis's coaching staff in Dallas, Quin Snyder has never utilized the post. The Atlanta Hawks ranked dead last in post up frequency last year. This was no outlier - in the decade of post up data available on NBA.com, Snyder has never fielded a team outside of the bottom five in post frequency. He hasn't had elite post talent to work with, but his results speak for themselves - he clearly has a stylistic preference for avoiding the post when possible.
Finding the middle ground between Snyder and Porzingis
For contrast, the Boston Celtics finished third in post up frequency per game last season, using the play nearly five times as frequently as Atlanta. When healthy, the Porzingis post up was a staple in Boston's elite offense.
Snyder has never explicitly revealed why he doesn't use the post up, but a common argument against the play is that it is not the most efficient play and limits a team's ball movement. While this can be true, the title-winning 2024 Celtics managed to achieve a high-level offense built on ball movement while integrating Porzingis's low game into the offense.
Throughout his career, Snyder has generally prioritized creating a system that maximizes his talent rather than forcing his players to play his scheme. Still, he has never had an elite post threat on his teams, so Porzingis's role in the offense is unclear.
Atlanta has shooting depth that compounds the impact of Porzingis's post game. His touches down low demand the defenses attention, but with sharpshooters Luke Kennard, Trae Young, and Zaccharie Risacher spacing the floor, defenders will be left unable to help.
Unfortunately for Porzingis, it is unrealistic to expect Atlanta to finish near the top of the league in post frequency next season. Snyder will adapt for Porzingis's game, but this will still be a decrease from his post heyday in Boston.