Ranking the Top 10 players in the Celtics-Heat first round series
By Ben Grunert
No. 4: Kristaps Porzingis
It didn’t take long for Kristaps Porzingis to show the world why Brad Stevens traded fan favorite Marcus Smart for him. Smart is one of the most beloved Celtics ever, but he never averaged 20.1 points on 51.6% shooting the way Porzingis just did.
Across 57 contests, KP posted career-highs in field goal percentage and two-point percentage. The 7-foot-3 Latvian also nailed 37.5% of his threes and 85.8% of his free throws, but he may have stood out most for his dominant play in the post.
Porzingis led the entire NBA with a ridiculous 1.3 points per post-up, and he did it on impressive volume. He ranked No. 6 in post-up frequency with 19.0% of his shots coming in the post. He also ranked No. 10 in post-up possessions per game with 3.2 post-ups a night.
KP was an X-Factor in Boston’s 3-0 regular-season series against the Heat. While the Celtics have struggled with Miami’s zone defense in past seasons (both in the playoffs and regular season), Porzingis served as a metaphorical zone-buster for the C’s with his ability to get good looks in the middle of the floor while spacing the offense with his long-range shooting and post-ups.
In his three games against the Heat this season, Porzingis shot 57.1% from the floor and 50.0% from three.