SAN FRANCISCO– Every day Kristaps Porzingis is able to play basketball is a step in the right direction. While the Golden State Warriors suffered a bad 130-124 overtime loss to the tanking Chicago Bulls, Porzingis made his third appearance in a Dubs uniform since the team acquired him for Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield at the trade deadline. And the stretch-center looked the best he's looked in his sparse time with the Warriors after missing six straight games with an illness. Porzingis finished with 17 points, four rebounds, and four blocks in 20 minutes of action.
After the game, Porzingis talked about how his shot and rhythm is feeling as he works to get back to the elite level he's played at in the past.
“It's not so good, it's not too good,” Porzingis said, hard on himself. “But I'm still able to knock some shots down. I think it's just a matter of time finding a good rhythm and knocking open looks down.”
Porzingis opened the game looking sharp with a pick-and-pop three and then a turnaround jumper in the post over a Bulls defender. And later, during the Warriors' 12-0 third-quarter run to get back in the game, Porzingis hit a huge wing three in a transition opportunity, to the excitement and roar of the Chase Center crowd. Defensively, Porzingis looked like a true rim protector, stifling much of the Bulls' challenges at the rim.
Overall, a good showing on both ends, as there were enough green flags to feel encouraged that he's trending up.
Kristaps Porzingis building his stamina back up
In terms of getting his stamina back, Porzingis still feels as though it is a work in progress.
“Definitely [felt] better today,” Porzingis said. “I would say I need probably four or five games to feel pretty good. Still feel like my legs are not great, you know, I would make some other decisions if I felt like my legs are there, you know. But I'm playing with the cards I have now. And I think I will just keep building with each game.”
Porzingis pointed to a missed opportunity on a fastbreak where Al Horford hit him as he was wide with no defender in front of him. Had he had his legs, Porzingis felt he would have been farther along to just dunk the ball before the Bulls could recover. But he didn't have his legs, which let the Bulls recover and force a miss. He also pointed to some of his drive attempts where things didn't feel right, as well as lacking some “pop” on the defensive end.
“It will come,” Porzingis said. “It's just a matter of time. And today, I would say, it was already a baby step forward from the first game.”
The road to recovery is a thorny one, especially for a player with a medical history like Porzingis's. He missed 40 games in his final season with the Boston Celtics, and only played 17 games for the Atlanta Hawks due to some lower-body injuries as well as his POTS condition. But his 20 minutes versus the Bulls is a step in the right direction for him and the team.
“I’m pretty gassed with these minutes,” Porzingis admitted. “But I think it's gonna be a bit of a build-up, but hopefully I'll keep feeling better with each game.”
