The Washington Wizards‘ stellar fourth-quarter effort against the Boston Celtics wasn’t enough, as they were beaten 129-133 by the Eastern Conference leaders and continue to wait for their 10th win of the season 51 games into the campaign. Kristaps Porzingis was the star of the show for the Celtics. The former Wizards star scored 34 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to break his former team’s heart.
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Post-game, Porzingis jokingly threw shade at former teammate Kyle Kuzma, who was forced to play center and guard the Celtics star due to injuries to Marvin Bagley III and Richaun Holmes. When asked about matching up against the Wizards star, Porzingis said,
“I don’t think he realized last year what I was doing for them. All the tricks, all the drawing of fouls, a little bit of grab here and there.”
To Kuzma’s credit, he did not take offense to Porzingis’ jibe and laughed the comment off on X, formerly called Twitter.
“lmaoooo”
.@kporzee lmaoooo
— kuz (@kylekuzma) February 10, 2024
While they are no longer teammates, Kuzma and Porzingis still have a good rapport. However, their friendship did not stop the Celtics center from exploiting the mismatch. He attacked the rim throughout the game and used his size advantage to draw fouls. He was a perfect 14-of-14 from the free throw line and shot 50% from beyond the arc in a stunning offensive display against his former team.
While Kuzma tried his best, the size disparity was too much for the forward to overcome.
Kristaps Porzingis’ massive impact on Celtics
The Celtics landed Kristaps Porzingis in the 2023 offseason to upgrade their center position, which has paid massive dividends. The former Wizards star is averaging 20.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists, providing a sizeable uptick in production from the position than Al Horford and Robert Williams did last season.
Porzingis’ addition hasn’t affected the Celtics’ defensive rating, but their offensive rating has improved from 118 to a league-best 121.1. They are five wins better off this year than at the same point last season and boast the best record in the NBA. Last week, Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum spoke highly of Porzingis in an interview and even compared him to one of Kobe Bryant‘s greatest teammates. He said,
“Kobe really needed Pau [Gasol] for those last two championships that they won together. Whatever path that I’m on and we’re on, KP really feels like the missing piece.”
“Kobe really needed Pau for those last two championships that they won together. Whatever path that I’m on and we’re on, KP really feels like the missing piece.”
– Jayson Tatum on teaming up with Kristaps Porzingis
(Via https://t.co/4h0yXYL6uT) pic.twitter.com/lUmEmQ33dI
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 1, 2024
The Celtics have made it to the Eastern Conference Finals five times in the last seven seasons. However, they’ve made it to the NBA Finals only once, where they lost to the Golden State Warriors. Tatum and the Celtics believe Porzingis can get them over the hump and help them win that elusive 18th NBA title.
