Former Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis missed his fourth game of the season on Thursday night when he sat out the Atlanta Hawks’ matchup with the Utah Jazz. Some quick math will tell you that he’s sat out over a quarter of Atlanta’s early schedule.
As exciting an offseason addition as Porzingis was for Hawks fans, they’re quickly realizing why it only cost Georges Niang (with Terrance Mann heading to the Brooklyn Nets) to bring him in.
He’s neither as durable nor playing at the same level as when he was in his prime a few years ago. Instead, he’s closer to the player he was towards the end of his Celtics tenure.
Through his first nine appearances with the Hawks, Porzingis is playing a career low in minutes per game at just under 26. So far, he’s averaged 17.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game on just 43% from the field and 31.1% from beyond the arc.
Still solid, but not super reliable on a night-to-night basis.
During his time in Boston, Porzingis played 99 of a possible 164 regular-season games. Not to mention that he missed the majority of the Celtics’ 2024 championship run after straining his calf in the opening round of the playoffs.
He came back for a historic Game 1 performance in the NBA Finals, but quickly returned to the injury report after just two games.
Porzingis' Celtics career didn't end on a high note
Of course, the final chapter of KP’s Celtics story was a sad one. Late in the season, he battled a mystery illness, which we now know to be postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). Porzingis’ case of POTS significantly hindered him in the playoffs.
He averaged just 7.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game on just 39.6% from the field and 15.4% from beyond the arc.
Far from the unicorn cheat code, he was in his first season with the Celtics when he posted 19.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game while shooting 51.6% from the field and 37.5% from long range.
Even with his dip in production during his battle with POTS, Boston likely would’ve kept Porzingis for the final year of his contract, had it not been for the league’s new CBA. Paying the Latvian, along with Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, and Jaylen Brown, would’ve kept the Cs above the second-apron threshold, causing them to face significant penalties.
Instead, they moved him to Atlanta to duck the apron and avoid the consequences.
Acquiring Porzingis was a low-risk, high-reward move for the Hawks, as they entered a pivotal season for the franchise. At his best, KP is a major difference maker. Even if he never peaks again in Atlanta, there won’t be long-term issues because they made the trade.
More than anything, they gave themselves a chance to compete in the final year of star guard Trae Young’s current contract.