Why Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett are hyped for Kristaps Porzingis' Celtics return
Yesterday at 08:30 AM
As if the already-dominant Boston Celtics needed to improve their roster even further, on Monday night, they saw the earlier-than-anticipated return of Kristaps Porzingis after the 7’3″ Latvian big man underwent surgery to address his “rare” leg injury after Boston won the championship back in June. And Porzingis’ impact was already apparent as the Celtics made mincemeat of the Los Angeles Clippers, 126-94, in his return — with “The Unicorn” looking as though he didn’t miss any time.
It will be crucial for the Celtics to manage Porzingis’ injuries, especially when he has a history of lower-body ailments that has prevented him from suiting up for a considerable chunk of postseason games. It may not be necessary for the Celtics to have the 29-year-old center around to compete for a championship, but he’s the piece that takes them from great to nearly-unbeatable — with Paul Pierce being very excited for how impactful he will be for them moving forward.
“When he out there, they look like they head and shoulders way better than the everybody else,” Pierce said on the most recent episode of the KG Certified podcast. “If you want to beat this healthy Celtics team, you got to come with some firepower.”
"When he out there, they look like they head and shoulders way better than the everybody else."
Paul Pierce is hyped about Kristaps Porzingis' return
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Kevin Garnett echoed Pierce’s opinion and took it a step further, outlining the difficulty that opposing teams will have in containing this full-strength Celtics team now that Porzingis is back.
“Man, you got to come with more than firepower. You got to do that s**t for 48 minutes. And you better hope like hell they ain’t hitting threes. Like real s**t. Because like that’s a whole ‘nother thing,” Garnett added.
Indeed, as the Celtics showed on Monday night in their demolition of the Clippers, they better get the team’s best shot, or else, they will be laughing them off the court.
Kristaps Porzingis takes Celtics’ offense to near game-breaking heights
The Celtics have made it a point over the past one and a half seasons to win the mathematical battle without a shadow of a doubt. They are launching three-point shots at a historic rate, and they have the shooters to match this level of bravado from beyond the arc. And Kristaps Porzingis improves their already-elite spacing even further.
On Monday night, the Celtics got whatever they wanted on offense against a Clippers defense that ranked within the top-five in points allowed per 100 possessions, and Porzingis should only get better from there the more he gets used to the speed of the game the further he is from his injury.
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