Kristaps Porzingis produced his worst performance since being traded to the Celtics against the Heat in Game 2 and he’s vowed to be better next time around.
Heat big man Bam Adebayo absolutely schooled Porzingis on the court and he could only manage six points, eight rebounds and four assists on 11.1 percent shooting from the field in Boston’s shocking 111-101 loss.
The center also finished the game with a plus-minus of -32. Yikes.
The C’s did some reflecting and reviewing and after Thursday’s practice, Porzingis detailed where it all went wrong.
“They make us think,” he said of Miami. “They do this on one possession, then they do another thing on another possession, then they switch, then they don’t. So that can freeze you a little bit, because you start to think a little bit, then you rush.”
He added, “Obviously, their physicality. They tried to get up into us. Make every catch, (make) every action difficult. But we also got a little bit, I think – because you value the possession so much, we got a little bit stagnant. We just need to play the same way we’ve been playing and not fall into their game too much.”
The big man explained how some simple fixes should solve some of the C’s woes.
“It’s small margins. (It’s) us getting a little bit better position, a little bit cleaner looks at the pass,” Porzingis said. “A little better positioning makes a big difference. They did a hell of a job, to be honest. And I didn’t have a good offensive game at all.”
When asked if he would do anything differently following his forgetful performance, Kristaps said, “No.I almost like to get away from basketball a little bit. Just rest. I always do my same routine. Nothing changes for me. Good game, bad game, I stay the same. We just looked at the things we could better, I looked at my possessions. I’ll make sure I’m better offensively.”