Kristaps Porziņģis connected on the most interesting play of the Celtics’ win over the Jazz on Friday through a give-and-go in transition following Jrue Holiday’s back-peddling steal on the defensive end. Holiday fed Porziņģis, dove downhill to the basket and caught a flashy bounce pass from the big man to score only his second basket early in the fourth quarter. Then, the Celtics returned to their regularly scheduled offense, Holiday feeding Porziņģis inside for two as Boston’s 10-point edge ballooned to 14 and an eventual 121-99 win.
Porziņģis scored 27 points with 10 rebounds and six assists on 9-for-15 shooting, seeing his three-point shot come around at 3-for-5 while playing through a more active offensive effort than usual for the Celtics. The cuts and pace, stemming from 13 steals and more transition play, proved different than how Boston plays on most nights. Rather than setting up Porziņģis continuously through mismatches, he thrived through the flow of the offense as the Celtics continued experimenting with Jaylen Brown out for a third time over the last four games. Boston yesterday announced he’ll also miss Sunday’s game in Portland as well with a right knee bone bruise.
The Celtics made 290 passes in the win, up from their 272 per game, touched the paint 21 times more than their average, forced six more steals than usual and cut throughout despite entering the night tied for the third-fewest cuts per game in the NBA. It looked like a different approach — and one that could help the starting lineup later.
Brown’s absence pulled Al Horford into the starting lineup for the second straight night, a combination that’s steadily contributing to winning minutes (+6.9 per 100) for the Celtics. That hasn’t been the case for Porziņģis and the usual starting lineup, which currently posts a -1.6 net rating after outscoring opponents by 11.0 points per 100 possessions last season. Boston balanced their strengths and weaknesses by pairing them together more often this year.
Despite some shooting surges by opponents against them, it’s actually Porziņģis’ group dropping to a 112.0 offensive rating that hurt the starters, who are down from a 120.3 offensive rating in 2024. With Horford at center in his place, his lineup scored 122.0 per 100 this year, and that’s with Horford shooting worse individually while Porziņģis thrives. It’s hard to figure out why.
Shooting seems to be the biggest difference, Porziņģis’ lineups converting only 54.4 eFG% compared to Horford’s shooting 61.4 eFG%. The former would rank 18th in the NBA among teams and the latter would lead the league by far. With more minutes, both would likely settle closer to the team’s 56.0 eFG% for the season alongside its 119.2 offensive rating. And though Horford’s units have fared better defensively, too, allowing for a +17.3 net rating, there are reasons beyond three-point variance that Porziņģis’ group slowed down despite him averaging 19.5 points on 48.6% shooting and hitting 39.6% of his threes.
The clearest difference comes with the pace the Celtics play at with either player on the floor. With Horford always focused on spacing to the perimeter and pushing the ball in transition, Boston appears to move faster in the half and full court with Horford in the game. Porziņģis also commands 1.53 seconds per touch, and while his touch totals compare similarly to Horford’s, every extra look he receives inevitably pulls from another teammate’s. His post-ups remain staggeringly efficient, but they can leave teammates standing and watching.
Horford spent more time than usual backing down smaller opponents and making quick decisions out of the post. With Walker Kessler in the paint, the Celtics wanted to space Porziņģis, who spotted-up and faced-up more than posting, which allowed him to play in a facilitating role more often while finishing many possessions with shots.
Boston also dominated the offensive boards playing bigger, 16-9, a more typical advantage they create over opponents. The Celtics’ 18-6 fast break edge came as a larger surprise without Brown for a team that averages 24th in transition points, 27th in possessions per game and the same in pace.
As Mazzulla mentions, offense connects to defense and Horford’s lineups (107.8) have also defended far better than Porziņģis’ (111.1), again perhaps due to some bad shooting luck, which stems from a more passive approach. The Celtics take the basket away from opponents successfully with Porziņģis at center, but with Horford inside they’ve switched, cut off the three-point line and caused more disruption at the point of attack. In double-big looks, like on Friday at Utah, they got the best of both worlds, forcing 17 Jazz turnovers.
It’s easy to forget that Porziņģis missed over 7o games across his first two seasons with Boston and most of the team’s championship run. He and the other starters are still learning to play with each other to some degree, and that also goes for an array of lineups that the Celtics will mix-and-match into the playoffs. Mazzulla likes when Luke Kornet and Porziņģis play together, which they’ve only done in 18 games, but they’ve won their minutes by 19.1 points per 100 possessions. Porziņģis will almost inevitably start playoff games at center, though Mazzulla has stressed that injuries, matchups or even in-game adjustments could change who plays and when.
The occurred recently when Porziņģis missed eight games in a row with an illness. Horford returned to the starting lineup in six of them and shot 40% from three while flashing his best defense all season in the win over the Lakers. On most nights, Porziņģis’ shot-blocking and more overwhelming offensive arsenal look like the better choice. But is there a world where those skills become accentuated by playing opposing second units? Or they prove more helpful in different rotations and lineups throughout the flow of the game? The Celtics led 2-1 over the Heat last April when Porziņģis fell with a calf injury, then won nine of the next 10 games without him.
“You have to be able to go to different things,” Joe Mazzulla said earlier this week. “Our small lineup did a great job of playing with speed, spacing and the dribble drive opened up the floor a little bit … all lineups are important and we just have to work as many lineups as we can and as many identities as we can. So the bigs have done a great job throughout the season, playing by themselves, playing together, versatility.”
