The Boston Celtics have acquired Kristaps Porzingis in a three-team trade. The All-Star big man is coming off the most effective season of his profession. The Celtics, then again, are licking their wounds after an Eastern Conference Finals humbling by the Miami Heat.
For the reason that Celtics’ season ended, president of basketball operations Brad Stevens has begun to ring the changes. First, he hired Sam Cassell, Charles Lee and Phil Pressey as assistant coaches. Now, he has traded away Marcus Smart for a transparent upgrade at the middle position. Some Boston fans will point to Porzingis’ injury history as a cause for concern; nevertheless, there are multiple reasons to be enthusiastic about this trade.
Porzingis gives Boston a post presence.
In the course of the 2022-23 regular season, the Celtics ranked twenty sixth within the league for post offense. The fashionable NBA might call for a perimeter-based game, but there stays value in offensive diversity and Porzingis was one of the crucial effective scorers out of the post last season.
Boston now boasts two high-level scorers on the block in Jayson Tatum and Porzingis. Head coach Joe Mazzulla can draw up actions resulting in post offense or post creation. As such, we should always expect to see some additional interior play from a roster that was at risk of counting on the three-point shot last season.
Porzingis is a high-level drop defender.
Mazzulla likes his big men to guard the rim. Normally, the Celtics coach will deploy his center as a ‘drop’ defender who plays several steps behind the motion. Porzingis thrived in an analogous role for Washington this season. At 7-foot-3′, Porzingis has the scale and wingspan to discourage and alter shots across the rim. As such, Boston’s perimeter defenders should feel empowered by having one other rim protector to bail them out once they are beaten off the dribble.
It is also price noting that Porzingis has averaged 1.8 blocks per game for his profession.
Porzingis will help fill the void when Jayson Tatum sits.
Each time Tatum heads to the bench, Boston’s offense stutters. Without their All-NBA wing initiating plays and drawing defensive attention, the Celtics find themselves struggling for ideas. With Porzingis within the rotation, Boston will now have one other star talent to lean on. Porzingis will provide three-level scoring and enough size to be an entry-pass goal on rim runs.
Having a 3rd star on the Celtics will do wonders for Boston’s offensive continuity moving forward while also allowing Tatum some additional rest during games.
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