Sunday afternoon was just like any other game for the Boston Celtics. They squeaked out a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the hardwood stayed in place overnight, ready for a second straight night of action against the LA Clippers.
But on Monday morning, the entire tone of the contest changed.
“Cookies and cream is back,” Jaylen Brown said with a smile after the game.
The Celtics made their regular pre-game walk-out onto the floor, closed by Jayson Tatum and Derrick White’s tunnel antics. The crowd erupted, but not quite as loud as they normally do. They knew there was something else in store.
Kristaps Porzingis fits in seamlessly with Celtics
As the time ticked off the pre-game clock, the crowd grew more and more eager with anticipation. And with just a few minutes remaining until the national anthem, he walked out of the tunnel.
Clutching his usual pre-game cup of espresso, Kristaps Porzingis strolled through the back hallway by the locker room, through the tunnel, and onto the court. The jumbotron camera followed his every move as the TD Garden crowd roared.
“KP is a legend. Did you see his walk out?” Brown said. “That's just him. He definitely brings that swagger to our team and that energy, and it was great to have him back out there.”
Porzingis sipped down the last few drops of his coffee and dished out high-fives to the fans sitting close to Boston’s bench. It was a sight that hadn’t graced the Garden since the NBA Finals.
Boston’s 14-3 start to the season was good for the second-best record in the NBA, and they handed the league-best Cleveland Cavaliers their first loss of the season the week prior. Everything was going smoothly.
The Celtics had plenty of experience winning with Porzingis last season, and the result was a championship. But as Joe Mazzulla emphasized relentlessly during training camp, this is a new year. Everything that happened last season is over. Getting Porzingis back could have been a small wrench in Boston’s flow.
But it wasn’t. Not even close.
“We didn't mention one word about that,” Mazzulla said with a smile.
Leading into the Celtics’ game against the Clippers on Monday night, Porzingis hadn’t played in an NBA game since the Finals. He was wholly out of practice. Yet the team didn’t even have to speak about his reintegration process. It was all natural.
“I think it's a credit to them in the locker room,” Mazzulla said. “Just picking up right where they left off from that standpoint. But didn't really have to talk about it. Just, the guys know. They know who they are. But it's a credit to them just understanding team basketball. And I think having him back as an example of how the guys positively impact each other.
“I mean, not just him. If anybody misses that amount of time, you're going to miss them, and when they come back, it's important to have them.”
From the jump, the Celtics got Porzingis involved. He took four threes in rapid success to start the first quarter, and even though he only made one of them, the decision sent a message—Porzingis was back like he never left.
“Honestly, for me at least, it felt like nothing. Just, boom, I'm back in the in the lineup,” Porzingis said. “And I think, honestly, it was already a pretty smooth transition last season when I started playing for the first time. And then once we found a little bit of rhythm, figure out each other's games and stuff, it's been very natural, even with me, let's say, not playing back to backs.
“Guys know my game now, and even me being out now for a little bit beginning of the season. It was very natural for me to be back out in the starting lineup.”
Porzingis may not have had a rhythm from three, but everything else was identical to the role-oriented superstar the Celtics traded for two summers ago.
He was finding his groove in the post, snatch-blocking shots at the rim with two hands, and throwing down alley-oops from Brown and Payton Pritchard.
Brown and Porzingis developed an elite chemistry together last year. The Cookies and Cream nickname took off, and the two stars got the best out of each other, on and off the court.
“Me and KP talk a lot,” Brown said. “I didn't know if it was confirmed that he was coming back tonight, but it was a pleasure to have him. His energy, his presence, it's fantastic. And we just got to keep building as a team. Last year is over with. It's a new year.
“It's good to have that swagger, but we got to keep our humility at the same time and treat every opponent with respect and just take care of business.”
Communication is always a good thing. But in the case of Porzingis, it was the lack thereof that shined through most emphatically.
“We don't over-communicate these things,” Porzingis said. “We just go out there and play, honestly. We have, in my opinion, the best coaching staff, and they give us the freedom to play to our strengths, and we just go out there and hoop.”