Dallas Mavericks: How close is Kristaps Porzingis to being back?

Kristaps Porzingis has been drawing the praise of many in and around the Dallas Mavericks as of late but it’s clear he’s yet to reach the heights he once resided.

After more than a 20-month hiatus from the game, we knew there would be some growing pains as Kristaps Porzingis worked to regain his former All-Star form. Choosing the safe route, Team KP and the Dallas Mavericks collectively agreed to postpone his return from the game until the start of this season.

It’s hard to argue with their thinking, too. There just aren’t a ton of case studies on 7-foot-3 professional athletes coming back from major knee injuries. But in choosing to delay his return, the Mavs have also chosen to live with the results. And contrary to some public statements from the team, KP is NOT yet back.

In 2017, Kristaps was averaging 22.7 points on 43.9 percent shooting. This season with the Dallas Mavericks, KP is averaging just 16.6 on 39.4 percent.  He’s particularly struggling to make plays on the move. As Nick Angstadt points out, when he’s asked to put the ball on the floor his shooting percentage takes a nose dive.

As a scorer, Zingis is currently at his best as a catch-and-shooter kind of weapon. Historically, that has not been his MO so we shouldn’t expect these types of off-the-dribble numbers to continue. That’s why we can say he’s yet to be “back”.

The eye test also seems to indicate KP isn’t 100 percent. Physically, he looks as impressive as he did back in Knick days, but his lift in his shot is lacking at times and his overall comfort on the floor isn’t quite there.  But then again, we shouldn’t really expect him to be that KP of old…

Different role/ different expectations

While Kristaps is not producing the stats like his last season in New York, expecting him to do so in Dallas, at any point, would be unrealistic. It’s not exactly breaking news to say the Dallas Mavericks offense is considerably different from the offensive system he played in New York. KP simply isn’t being asked to those same things.

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So it stands to reason, since he’s not being asked to be the old Porzingis, we shouldn’t really expect him to be. KP has a different role on the Dallas Mavericks and it’s not just playing second fiddle to Luka Doncic. He’s spacing the floor, blocking shots, and gathering boards.

Zingis is taking far fewer mid-range jumpers and being asked to do more down low and deep.  His rebounding numbers are up considerably as are his blocks. The way he spaces the floor is invaluable and as his 3-point percentage increases, we’re sure to see some scoring explosions.

Kristaps’ shot percentage is clearly off and we can safely expect that to improve, both down low as well as deep. But that should happen in time. What we can’t expect is him to be the player he was in New York because he’s just not being asked to.

So when people say “KP is back” I have to respectfully disagree. But I also have to point out “back” doesn’t mean duplicating his 2017 season with the Knicks.

• Published on 12/08/2019 at 12:01 PM
• Last updated at 12/08/2019 at 10:20 AM