Kristaps Porziņģis was strongly criticized after the Mavs were eliminated in seven games to the Los Angeles Clippers. The Dallas Mavericks Power forward who averaged 20 points and almost 9 rebounds per game during the regular season, was often seen standing in the corner hardly included in any plays when the Mavs ran their half court sets. He finished the series averaging a disappointing 13 points and 5 rebounds a game. Speculation on why Porziņģis performed so poorly was rabid in Dallas. Recently, he addressed the issue on a Latvian radio show saying he was taken out the half court set, as the offense never went through him.
Translation Via Redditor “The Devil201”
”I was told that since I’m being guarded by Kawhi, it would be better for me to stretch the floor and if I saw the opportunity, I could attack the paint. I was out of the pick and rolls, the ball didn’t go trough me at all. Just play defense, run to the corner and wait for the opportunity. But I was ready to accept it, if that meant winning, all I wanted was to win”
That quote from The Unicorn provides some insight as to why his role was so limited, there has also been reports that Porzingis is jealous of Dončić. Those reports seem to be true, the two seem to not have any chemistry on or off the court. Porziņģis has never publicly complained about his role but you can envision why he would have a problem with his role being limited. Porziņģis has shown flashes brilliance when healthy but has been on the injury list with regularity.
Kristaps is approaching his first healthy offseason with the Mavericks. This puts pressure on Jason Kidd to achieve something that Rick Carlisle was unable to achieve, make the duo of Luka and Kristaps meet their potential. If Kidd is not able to do that, then Porziņģis might be playing somewhere else by next seasons trade deadline.
Categories: Mavs Fans For Life
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