Dallas Mavericks big man Kristaps Porzingis has had to alter his mindset after coming to the Mavs via trade and taking part in a new system with Luka Doncic at the forefront of it all.
The 7-foot-3 unicorn was a secondary scorer behind Carmelo Anthony his first two years but soon took the mantle as the lead dog, proving he could be a 20-point scorer. That didn't last long, though, as he sustained a torn ACL, setting him back and forcing him to take on a different role.
Porzingis acknowledged how things have changed for him in Dallas:
Article Continues Below“Throughout my career, a lot of times maybe my energy was based on if I score or not, and that leads to everything else. Now, it's not that I've changed my mindset,” said Kristaps Porzingis, who has been forced into a secondary role this season next to Doncic, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon. “I'm still a scorer, but if it's not going in and things aren't going my way offensively, I'm still there for the rest of the other stuff. That's a big change for me.”
Porzingis has had to hang his hat on other skills he didn't have to display as much when he was getting buckets in New York. He's using his length to block more shots and rebound and his size to set monster screens that facilitate driving lanes for his teammates.
The Mavs will need Kristaps Porzingis' full array of gifts to make a run in the postseason, though one thing we know he won't be doing will be posting up a lot.