Kristaps Porzingis aims to tackle NBA playoffs 'the Boston Celtics way'

Defending champions' Latvian centre says team is finding its groove at the right time

Latvian centre Kristaps Porzingis believes the Boston Celtics have recaptured their killer instinct during the tail-end of the regular season and are looking “like a different animal” ahead of the start of the playoffs this weekend.

The defending NBA champions locked down the No 2 seed in the Eastern Conference and will take on the Orlando Magic in Game 1 of the playoffs opening round on Sunday.

Boston overcame post-championship fatigue, a spate of injuries, and stiff competition to post a 61-21 record this regular season. During a shaky period for the team in January, Porzingis admitted “we were a lion last season, and some games this year we've looked like a house cat”.

Fast-forward to the post-season and the title holders are ready to hunt their prey.

“I think we had moments where we started to look like a different animal again, especially towards the end of the year,” Porzingis told a select group of international media over Zoom on Tuesday.

“I think everybody kind of started to turn up the intensity just a bit, knowing that we're about to go for another run. And you can see in our performances late in the season.

“We still ended up with the second seed, but I think we're playing some of the best basketball in the league, and we want to bring that momentum into the playoffs.”

The Celtics are looking to become the first back-to-back NBA champions since the Golden State Warriors defended their crown in the 2017/18 season.

While Boston hold the record for most NBA titles won, with 18, they have not done a repeat since 1968/69.

Porzingis says the idea of making history is fuelling the team.

“I liked what JD [Davidson] said the other day: We’re not defending a championship; we’re just trying to win another one. We won one last year and now we have the opportunity to make history, to win two in a row,” said Porzingis.

“This year is a completely different year, different season, and what we are trying to do is to hunt another championship again, and that's our mindset.”

Kristaps Porzingis of the Boston Celtics heads for the net as OG Anunoby of the New York Knicks defends. AFP

This is Porzingis’ second campaign with the Celtics and it proved particularly challenging given he had to miss training camp as well as the first month of the season as he continued to recover from surgery that repaired a torn medial retinaculum in his left foot.

His 42 appearances for Boston this season is a career-low mark for him but he put up good numbers, averaging 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game.

“Obviously, just not being able to start the season, not having a training camp, coming off the injury from last season, then having some ups and downs even throughout the season, you know, getting sick and being out for two, three weeks; all those things take a little bit of recovering and getting back into rhythm,” said the 29-year-old All Star.

“Which I'm very good at because, unfortunately, maybe I've had some things I had to go through, and then come back again and come back again. In that sense, I have good experience to be able to jump in the game right away and have a good rhythm.

“But anyway, it's not easy. It's been a little bit of battle for me this year, but I'm here now, I'm healthy now, heading into the playoffs, and that's the most important.”

Porzingis pointed out that Boston are once again one of the best teams in the league both offensively and defensively and says, “we believe that with an extra year of experience now under our belt, we can make another run for the championship”.

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This is the third season for the Celtics with coach Joe Mazzulla at the helm and the players have bought into his egoless team-first philosophy. They play team basketball on both sides of the floor, focus on pace and ball movement, and rely heavily on three-point shooting; they set multiple three-point records this season including most threes per campaign with 1,457 made.

“It's important to keep playing like selfless basketball that we've been playing,” said Porzingis, looking ahead to the playoffs.

“When we have those moments where, I don't know, four or five guys touch the ball and D-White [Derrick White] hits a corner three or Payton [Pritchard] hits a three at the end, and we get this burst of energy is I think when we are at our best.

“Or we make some energy play, maybe somebody dives into the crowd, these are the type of plays that Boston loves the most. And those are the type of plays that represents us as a team, and no matter how talented we are, we always want to be the hardest-playing team. And when we do those things, it's when we're really representing ourselves in a Celtic way.”