Monte Morris threw up his arms before the ball even hit the target. The Wizards point guard had just passed on the leather to Kristaps Porzingis who, with a big fake shot, had eliminated his defender to send to 3-pointers. And his shot returned to the buzzer of the first period against the Grizzlies.
This award-winning shot contributed to the good evening of the Latvian behind the arc. With his 6/10 by far last night, the interior had never been so productive in this area since his arrival in Washington.
To the delight of his coach, Wes Unseld Jr, which reminds that his giant of 2m21 is able to do ” movements here or there that shock. It’s what we see every day and we can take it for granted, but there aren’t many players on the planet who can do what he does. »
Namely to shoot with such cleanliness for a player of his size. Thanks to his little festival last night, finished at 25 points (7/15 on shots) and 6 rebounds, he is approaching 39% success at 3-points. Which is not very far from his career high (39.5%) established during his third season in the league with the Knicks.
“I feel like this is the right place for me”
The pivot is in any case on a good dynamic. Already in the previous game, also missed by Bradley Beal (five consecutive games missed due to a Covid quarantine), he had planted 31 points (12/20) with 10 bonus rebounds. “ I absolutely love being here. I feel this is the right place for me “Enthuses the former Mavs player, whose team, 5th in the East, remains on four straight wins.
A good form that he explains by ” the way we play for each other. One makes the pass more, one cuts for the other. We do little things that may not be as visible but that help us win. Once Brad is back, the pressure will be less for the others. He can be the central point of the attack, which will open the way for all the others. This will give us a greater strike force. »
Wes Unseld Jr. also thinks this marriage between the Wizards and Kristaps Porzingis has reason to work. ” I think he likes the way we play, it matches his style. With the way you space the game, when you do it right and get the ball moving, who wouldn’t want to play that way? asks the coach.
| Kristaps Porzingis | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2015-16 | NYK | 72 | 28 | 42.1 | 33.3 | 83.8 | 1.8 | 5.5 | 7.3 | 1.3 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 14.3 |
| 2016-17 | NYK | 66 | 33 | 45.0 | 35.7 | 78.6 | 1.7 | 5.5 | 7.2 | 1.5 | 3.7 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 18.1 |
| 2017-18 | NYK | 48 | 32 | 43.9 | 39.5 | 79.3 | 1.3 | 5.3 | 6.6 | 1.2 | 2.9 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 22.7 |
| 2019-20 | DAL | 57 | 32 | 42.7 | 35.2 | 79.9 | 1.8 | 7.7 | 9.5 | 1.8 | 3.3 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 20.4 |
| 2020-21 | DAL | 43 | 31 | 47.6 | 37.6 | 85.5 | 1.9 | 7.0 | 8.9 | 1.6 | 2.7 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 20.1 |
| 2021-22 * | All Teams | 51 | 29 | 45.9 | 31.0 | 86.7 | 2.0 | 6.1 | 8.1 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 20.2 |
| 2021-22 * | DAL | 34 | 30 | 45.1 | 28.3 | 86.5 | 1.9 | 5.8 | 7.7 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 19.2 |
| 2021-22 * | WAS | 17 | 28 | 47.5 | 36.7 | 87.1 | 2.2 | 6.6 | 8.8 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 22.1 |
| 2022-23 | WAS | 12 | 31 | 49.1 | 35.4 | 80.3 | 2.2 | 6.2 | 8.3 | 2.4 | 3.3 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 20.2 |
| Total | 349 | 31 | 44.5 | 35.3 | 82.0 | 1.8 | 6.1 | 7.9 | 1.6 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 19.0 | |
