When healthy, Kristaps Porzingis has helped elevate the Golden State Warriors. He's averaging 14.9 points, 2.3 assists, and 2.0 blocks per contest in 20.3 minutes across seven appearances. The unfortunate part about the Porzingis experience is his struggles to stay on the court.
In the last two years, he has battled an illness that rendered him a shell of himself in the playoffs and Achilles tendinitis. He was dealing with the latter when Golden State acquired him.
Now, the former Boston Celtics center is suffering from what he labeled a back spasm. The latest ailment in a frustrating two years filled with them happened in the first half of the Warriors' 115-101 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Friday.
What Kristaps Porzingis had to say about his lower back spasms
Friday was the former All-Star's second start since joining Golden State at the trade deadline. He had logged just 11 minutes, registering five points, three rebounds, and two blocks, before gingerly making his way to the visitors' locker room.
According to Anthony Slater of ESPN, after the loss, sitting at his locker, Porzingis shared, "Right now, it's pretty stiff."
The seven-foot-two center also said that back issues haven't posed a problem since early in his career, noting, "I'm pretty good at managing and keeping the back strong. I'm sure it will go away pretty quickly."
He then sat out Saturday's 126-110 defeat vs. the franchise he most recently suited up for before joining the Warriors, the Atlanta Hawks. Given that it was the second half of a back-to-back, he may not have played anyway.
Just when it seemed like KP was finding a rhythm...
Adding to the frustration of his latest setback is that the Latvian native expressed the following sentiment about recapturing his rhythm when he met with the media after Golden State's 120-99 loss to the Celtics.
"I think I'm already now where I can contribute decently," voiced Porzingis, per CLNS Media. "But I think like four or five more games — I know I said that three games ago, but four or five more games, and then I feel like I'll really be close and pretty good shape. Obviously, in the season, it's not ideal, but my overall feel, I see the trajectory now. So, for me, I'm kinda convinced that I'm headed in the right direction."
Hopefully, that's still the case. Golden State is 10th in the Western Conference standings. If the Warriors can't climb to at least eighth, then they'll have to win two games in the play-in tournament to reach the playoffs. It's an unenviable path for an older roster that's without Jimmy Butler due to a torn ACL. Porzingis being able to reach the standard he's capable of when healthy would go a long way toward Golden State advancing.