As the Celtics return from the All-Star break, they could face an old friend in Kristaps Porzingis on Thursday against the Warriors. Golden State landed Porzingis from the Hawks at the trade deadline, reuniting him with Al Horford.
While Porzingis hasn’t played for the Warriors yet due to an Achilles injury, he could make his debut for the 10 p.m. Thursday game at the Chase Center facing the C’s. Golden State coach Steve Kerr broke down how the big man should fit with the organization.
“He’s an easy fit,” Kerr said, per ESPN’s Anthony Slater. “You don’t have to change a whole lot. The biggest difference I guess he provides is post-ups. He’s a pretty good post-up players, especially against switches. You throw him a ball at the foul line, the elbows, even the low block. He can score in those spots. That’s one of the things we did today. We worked on our spacing.”
The Warriors are 29-26 and in eighth place in the West, so they’re looking to finish the season strong. If Porzingis is available to play, he could give them a big boost. Stephen Curry is also dealing with an injury that forced him to miss the final two games ahead of the break, so it’s unclear if play Thursday.
Porzingis hasn’t played in a game since Jan. 7 when he was still in Atlanta. When the Hawks traded for the big man from the Celtics, they hoped he could be a missing piece toward competitiveness. But the Hawks sold him off at the deadline amid a down year.
Porzingis has played in just 17 games this season due to injury and illness issues. But he does now have a chance to contribute for the Warriors in the final stretch of the season. It just remains to be seen if he can stay on the court in any consistent capacity.
“Kristaps has been here the last handful of days,” Kerr said. “Practiced (Tuesday) with the team. Looking good. He’s feeling good. We won’t make a determination until after (Wednesday), when we practice (Wednesday) afternoon. We’ll get up and down the floor and scrimmage.”