The Celtics have a Kristaps Porzingis problem (and not because of injury)

Something is wrong with the Boston Celtics right now. It’s not a bad place to be in—28-11 and still acting like the sky is falling. In fact, Joe Mazzulla likes inhabiting that space. “It's a great standard and a great expectation to have, and we have to deliver,” he said after Boston’s win over the New Orleans Pelicans. But as the Celtics look to improve, they should look at Kristaps Porzingis.

Since returning from offseason surgery to repair a foot issue, Porzingis has been on and off the court with various lower-leg injuries. But while that may be the most glaring issue, it’s not the one Boston should be worried about the most.

It’s his fit within the team.

Kristaps Porzingis hasn't been a perfect fit this year(yet)

Obviously, Porzingis hasn’t played enough to match the on/off numbers of the rest of the top six guys. He’s sitting at a +20 on the season, while the next-lowest is Jrue Holiday at +144, and Jayson Tatum leads the way at +289. But even when it’s put in a per-game context, Porzingis is still significantly lagging behind.

Tatum’s per-game plus/minus is an 8.0, Jaylen Brown’s is a 7.1, Derrick White’s is a 7.0, Al Horford’s is a 5.9, and Holiday’s is a 4.4. Meanwhile, Porzingis is only at +1.3 per game.

And even if the numbers are restricted to when Porzingis came back and onward, he’s still not hitting the mark.

Part of this can be attributed to the Celtics’ team-wide struggles for the last month or so, but that doesn’t fully resolve the issue because Horford is doing just fine. Since Porzingis’ initial return on November 24, he’s accrued that +1.3 plus/minus per game, but Horford is at +5.5.

Now, what about minutes when they play together? Well, the Celtics are great with both big men on the court. In games they’ve both played, Boston has a 9.38 net rating with them both on the court.

But with Horford on and Porzingis off, they have an 11.49 net rating. And with Horford off and Porzingis on, that number drops to a -6.38 net rating.

And when Luke Kornet is thrown into the mix, the solo Porzingis minutes become even more of a problem.

It’s not easy to regain chemistry, especially after a player has missed a ton of time. And that’s seemingly what’s happening with the Celtics and Porzingis right now. “Sometimes, when you have the same team, we have this expectation that we're just going to pick up there,” Mazzulla said. “And it's different. Different year, people, and different spaces. 

There’s no denying the talent that’s there, and when Porzingis is firing on all cylinders, his impact is incredible. Boston just needs to find the best way to harness it again.