You can basically spot every NBA team about 90 points a game. Most will hit that threshold on any given night. Despite some variance of shooting percentages mixed in with the element of human error in the officiating, a team of fifteen professional basketball players is going to get you 90 points.
But there’s about five minutes and 10-15 possessions that make the difference between winning and losing.
That’s when stars become superstars and rise to the occasion. However, coaches and defenses spend hours scheming against them and even on their best nights, they can be neutralized.
And that’s when a team’s x-factor kicks in, that sometimes magical element that kicks in at the right moment. Maybe it’s not this big existential crisis, but rather a belief in the mystical. If sports are a metaphor for life, then you have to often acknowledge the inexplicable.
Enter Kristaps Porzingis.
Last night, the Celtics eked out a 2-point overtime win at Madison Square Garden, sweeping the Knicks in the season series. Jayson Tatum poured in 32 points, including a game-tying three in the closing seconds of regulation. Derrick White and Jrue Holiday were solid again as the backbone of the backcourt.
But with Jaylen Brown only playing 22 minutes and Al Horford recovering from his alma mater’s championship, Boston needed a little oomph.
Head coach Joe Mazzulla was a little more technical about that “oomph,” crediting Porzingis for “his physicality putting a ton of pressure on the defense and his screening against different coverages allows us to go to different things…to play different pick-and-roll combinations — it allows us to space him. We’re able to use his versatility in a lot of different ways.”
On a night when KP hit 8-of-13 from behind the arc including effectively the game winner in OT, it’s easy to forget the tactical advantages that Porzingis provides. Rather, we’ll remember — if we’ll even remember a meaningless early April regular season game at all — that Porzingis caught fire against his former team. It was a performance that reminded fans of his extra-ordinary ability to flip a game in the Celtics’ favor with a flair for the dramatic and unexpected.
“Just let it fly without conscience,” Porzingis said of his out-of-body shooting experience.
He continued, “the ball rolled to me and this is destiny. I just picked it up and let it fly without thinking too much. Those are the best kind of nights — you just playing free and letting it fly and shots are just going in.”
The Celtics proved last year that, for the most part, they could win without him. But even if his limited appearances in that championship run, there were glimpses of what the Unicorn could conjure up in the biggest moments.
Admittedly, the competition seems stiffer in 2025. Porzingis is probably more a necessity now than a luxury, particularly in a seven-game series where his mismatch advantage will be utilized on every play in every minute that he plays.
Even so, there’s a little something extra that Porzingis brings to the table that could be a key ingredient in repeating as champs. Prior to that memorable Game 1 performance of the Finals, the Celtics were celebrating the life of Bill Walton who had passed ten days prior. Walton was a solid contributor of the ‘86 championship in his Sixth Man of the Year campaign. His prowess as a rebounder and passer were a big part of that banner-raising team.
However, what Walton might have contributed more to was a rediscovered joy for the game. He loved playing for Boston. You can see that in Porzingis’ time with the Celtics, too. After being elbowed in the face by Cody Martin, he hit the floor and remained on the parquet for several minutes. When he got up, he raised his arms to the crowd as blood poured from the bridge of his nose.
Without scoring a point, the energy shifted.
