When Kristaps Porzingis emerged from the Celtics’ tunnel for pregame warmups on Sunday afternoon, he could not look any happier. The big man smiled from ear to ear as he high-fived and pointed to fans with a Diet Coke in his right hand.
The crowd erupted. Even a TD Garden employee turned around and applauded as Porzingis took to the parquet.
Amidst the upbeat melody of The Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back,” Porzingis couldn’t help but add a touch of swagger to his stride before taking his place on the Celtics’ bench. It was playoff time, a chance for him to compete at the highest level — an opportunity he had eagerly awaited was finally here, and the stage was set perfectly.
“It was definitely a fun game,” Porzingis said after the game. “Our first playoff game this year, at home, Sunday, 1 PM, perfect setup, right? And we came out the right way. We were the first ones to punch them. We got off to a good start, and from that point on, we kept it going.”
Porzingis played a pivotal role in the team’s fast start.
After Jaylen Brown knocked down a three on the wing to open the scoring for the game, Porzingis contested a Bam Adebayo mid-range jumper, forcing a miss.
The Celtics grabbed the rebound and quickly pushed ahead in transition. On the other end, Porzingis set a screen on Jamie Jaquez Jr., forcing him to fight over the screen and effectively slowing him down as he tried to defend Brown’s quickness.
Jaquez never recovered.
Brown – one of the league’s best transition players – hit a nasty spin move on the Miami rookie and threw down a thunderous dunk.
On the ensuing possession, Porzingis closed out on a Tyler Herro three, forcing another miss. As the Celtics pushed in transition, Porzingis caught Herro in a cross-match, and the 7-foot-2 big shot right over the hopeless 6-foot-5 guard.
Not even 90 seconds into the game, the Heat were already feeling the raft of Porzingis, who finished the afternoon with 18 points on 7-of-13 (53.8%) from the field, 4-of-8 (50%) from deep, four rebounds, an assist, two blocks, and a steal.
The big man’s elite two-way presence was on display all afternoon as he drew the assignment of Adebayo. He adeptly matched Adebayo’s physicality and limited him to contested mid-range jumpers and crowded post-ups all afternoon. As a team, Miami shot 9-of-27 (33.3%) with two turnovers, with Porzingis as the closest defender.
“This is business,” Porzingis said on the Adeabyo matchup. “Of course, we want to stop him as much as possible, but understanding they’re going to play through him all the time, [and] he’s going to be involved in all the situations. I don’t care about him. I care about our team and what we’re trying to achieve; this is not one one-on-one, me against Bam, this is Celtics against Heat. So, we’ll make sure that’s our focus.”
In Game 1, the Heat found themselves powerless against Boston’s dominant big man, who showcased a masterclass performance on both ends of the floor. His sharpshooting prowess devastated Miami from the perimeter, while his adeptness at setting screens, stretching the floor, and generating inside touches around the nail consistently troubled the Heat defense. Regardless of Miami’s attempts to slow him down, he had an answer.
Additionally, he contested a total of 20 shots, matching the efforts of Miami’s entire starting lineup combined.
“Last year was a lot easier because they didn’t have Porzingis,” Miami’s Nikola Jovic said postgame. “I think our zone really made a lot of problems for them. I think it can cause a lot of problems this year, too, but with Porzingis in the lineup, who can stretch the floor and shoot it almost over anyone, it’s just really hard to guard him.”
There’s no denying it: the events of the Eastern Conference Finals 11 months ago directly influenced Brad Stevens’ decision to orchestrate a franchise-altering trade for Porzingis. And the outcomes thus far have proven to be a resounding success.
Related
