Kristaps Porzingis is healthy and ready
The Celtics are healthy and ready to begin the season after a dominating performance over the New York Knicks, 123-110. Joe Mazzola has tinkered with come lineups this preseason and started the game.
On Tuesday, the Green had a starting lineup of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, and Kristaps Porzingis. Al Horford came off on the bench with a group of 6 playing over 23 minutes. Tatum led the way with 28 points, shooting 5-of-8 from deep. The green knocked down 16-of-29 3’s in the first half, scoring 78 points. The team’s display of unselfish basketball led to 16 assists in the first half. The Celtics finished the game shooting 44% 23-52 from long range.
All of Celtics' 23 made 3-pointers from last night here: pic.twitter.com/24nDy7Lb4I
— Tomek Kordylewski (@Timi_093) October 18, 2023
Horford has only come off the bench 12 times in his NBA career. If he does on opening night, it will be his first time as a member of the Celtics. He made an impact on Tuesday night, scoring 5 quick points to go along with 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Sam Houser and Peyton Pritchard each played 22 minutes, scoring 15 and 11 points. This should be the top 8 heading into the season.
The story of the preseason is Kristaps Porzingis. Through 3 preseason games, he is averaging 16.0PPG and 6 rebounds. He consistently hits open shots from anywhere. Porzingis finished the game with 20 PTS, 9 REB, and 8-of-13 from the field. 4-of-8 from 3. He’s currently shooting 60% from the floor and beyond the arc. His defense is the story, playing well on the pick-n-roll and contesting shots. He finished with 2 blocks last night.
https://x.com/celtics/status/1714630311995113579?s=20
Kristaps Porzingis says he’s been getting so many open looks because of how much attention the Jays draw: “This was a good game for us to keep building that chemistry. ”The conversation surrounding Porzingis will always be about health. He played 30 minutes last night and should make the NBA All-Star team this year. Of course, if healthy. As far as the Celtics go, they are healthy going into the final preseason game, with the opener vs Miami next week.
