BOSTON — Kristaps Porziņģis watched last season’s NBA playoffs while in Latvia. Though he believes the honeydew melon tastes better in his home country, he didn’t want to be there during the basketball postseason. As nice as it was to relax after a long season, he wished he were still playing instead.
“I’m thinking to myself like, ‘Of course, it’s nice to finish the season early, but there’s nothing else to do,’” Porziņģis recalled Sunday night. “What is there better to do than to play basketball? Nothing. Yeah, you can go for a little vacation. But this is what I love to do.”
It has been too long since Porziņģis competed in the playoffs, but he’s closing in on his chance. After blocking five shots to help the Boston Celtics roll the Portland Trail Blazers 124-107, Porziņģis said he wants to use the end of the regular season to ramp up for the coming postseason run. These final games won’t impact the standings, but he wants to squeeze meaning out of them anyway. It’s time for him to turn it up.
“I’m working hard on my legs and my stance,” Porziņģis said. “I’m being locked in defensively. In the postseason, there’s going to be more switching. I need to be at my best, at my peak defensively and offensively.”
The Celtics saw a glimpse of his peak near the end of the second quarter Sunday night. After the Blazers cut a double-digit Celtics advantage to 4 points, Porziņģis showed off all of his gifts while dominating the paint with a flurry of great plays. He blocked three straight Portland shots, including two on the same possession. He scrambled into a closeout against Kris Murray in transition and was able to recover to shut down the wing. Porziņģis used physicality to stop Deandre Ayton near the rim, then turned to impressive lateral mobility to stick with Scoot Henderson on a switch. Throughout the sequence, Porziņģis displayed his unique combination of size and fluidity.
The third block during the stretch might have been the best.
After an Al Horford miss, Porziņģis worked to retreat in transition. He scrambled well enough to take away a potential 3-point attempt for Murray, who had already made two on the night. The closeout left Porziņģis in a dangerous position, but he recovered thanks partially to some strong help from Horford. Murray tried to shoot a lefty layup, but Porziņģis caught up to his man to swat away the offering. He’s not a lumbering center.
He showed that again after switching to Henderson.
Because Henderson still struggles as an outside shooter, Porziņģis was able to give the guard plenty of space. When Henderson started to make his move, Porziņģis broke out top-notch footwork to shadow the athletic guard. Porziņģis contested the shot well enough to help force an air ball. He finished the game with five blocks and three steals, along with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
“All of us need to be locked in,” Porziņģis said. “Now in the regular season, as I’ve said, I’m starting to turn it up now heading into the postseason. We have to be at the top of our game before going on this one. And the stakes are high and we have to bring our A game every night.”
The Celtics’ A game includes Porziņģis dominating at both ends of the court. He can do it. They know he can. They want him to do it all the time. After a recent win against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Jaylen Brown said he considers Porziņģis’ defense even more important than his offense. Brown said that when Porziņģis stays solid, puts his hands up and contests shots at the rim without taking any plays off, he takes the Celtics to another level. In what seemed to be a challenge for Porziņģis, Brown said the team encourages the center to do that more and more “because in the playoffs it can be one possession, two possessions that could determine the game.”
“That’s going to be the game: defense,” Brown reiterated Sunday. “Obviously, offense is going to be…
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