After games, Kristaps Porziņģis takes a seat in the locker room to discuss his observations on the court. It’s a fireside
discussion for Xs and OS enthusiasts.
After the Celtics defeated the 76ers with a season-low 22 three-point attempts, he recounted how Philadelphia
guarded him, even getting up and motioning how the Sixers erred rather than switching immediately against his
screens.
“I saw that they saw I’m popping and they’re early veering, so right away, the guard is coming with me so we don’t
get an advantage and I’m standing on the perimeter,” he told reporters. “As the game progressed, I began to hit
beneath, position the screen underneath, and begin to roll. J.T. and DWhite found me a few times, or we had a
mismatch and kicked from there, or sometimes I simply roll and pull in some people, and then we can get some kick-
outs because some help is on the way. So simply establishing minor advantages inside those situations… we have to
be a clever team that… boom… if they start doing this, we go to this, and we constantly need to
As a result, Boston can now win in a variety of ways, and its offense appears to be more sustainable than last year’s
three-point-reliant approach. The Celtics lead Indiana by nearly two points per 100 possessions on offense, and they
have won 14 of 25 games when shooting less than 36% from three, a significant improvement from 19-20 last season.
