The Atlanta Hawks had been without Kristaps Porzingis for the past four games as he dealt with an illness, but he was able to return against the Denver Nuggets. It was uncertain what the illness was, but some thought that it might have been connected to the same illness that he had late last season when he was with the Boston Celtics. It was labeled as POTS, and Porzingis spoke about it before the start of the season, saying that his heart rate would increase and he'd get exhausted just by standing up.
After their game against the Nuggets, Porzingis was asked if he was dealing with a similar illness this time around.
“I wouldn’t say it was the same thing,” Porzingis said. “I just wasn’t feeling too good. Not being healthy, but I wouldn’t say it was the same stuff from last season, so that’s good. I think I put that behind me, even this summer playing for the national team, but just catching anything, it’s frustrating. I wanna be healthy, and I will be healthy.”
The Hawks elected to bring him off the bench and have him on a minutes restriction in this game, and he didn't miss a beat. He finished with 25 points and shot 9-of-13 from the field in just 20 minutes. He said he felt “surprisingly good” while on the floor.
“I only played 20 minutes, but I felt good the first game back,” Porzingis said. “Obviously, I had some bumps, but I wanna be out there. It’s killing me not to be perfectly healthy, but now I feel on the right track. I felt great tonight, you can see by the way I was moving in those 20 minutes. I’m happy about that, and I look forward to building on top of this game.”
Porzingis had only come off the bench one other time in his career prior to this game, and moving forward, it's uncertain what the Hawks have planned with him in the rotation. At the end of the day, it seems like he's satisfied with any move, as long as he's helping the team win.
“I always say if you put me in any situation, I’ll figure it out,” Porzingis said. “It’s not what I love, but I think it makes sense. I’m playing limited minutes, and I’ll do whatever is best for the team. I say those words, and I really mean it. I’m here to just help this team win. If that means coming off the bench, that’s perfect for me, and I look forward to building back up from this point on.”
Head coach Quin Snyder was noncommittal on whether he'd keep bringing Porzingis off the bench.
“With our team, with [Jalen Johnson], [Onyeka Okongwu], and Porzingis, we’ve got guys that can play in combination,
Snyder said. “I think those things are fluid for us. Injuries have dictated a lot of our lineups and matchups, and we’ll just keep evaluating that and do what we think is the best thing for the team. I think one of the good things about this group is it’s a really selfless group, and those guys play for each other.”
Coming into the season, and seemed as if there was a good chance the Hawks would manage Porzingis' minutes as well as not play him on back-to-backs to keep him fresh throughout the year. Moving forward, it will be interesting to see how long Porzingis is on a minutes restriction, and if he will continue to come off the bench.
