Joe Mazzulla decided to play Kristaps Porzingis for more minutes than Luke Kornet in the first half of Game 5 against the New York Knicks, and it made absolutely no sense. The Boston Celtics ended up tied at half-time, 59-59, yet Porzingis (12:30 first-half minutes) was a team-worst -12. Meanwhile, Kornet (6:30 first-half minutes) was +3.
In fact, Kornet did not check back into the game in the second quarter at all. Instead, after a rough first-quarter showing, Porzingis waltzed back up to the scorer's table instead to take on the double-big minutes alongside Al Horford. Yet endured another brutal stint.
Following an ugly first-round series against the Orlando Magic, Porzingis has continued to struggle against the Knicks in the second round, but he's still earning more minutes than his five-man counterpart.
What went wrong for Kristaps Porzingis in first half of Game 5?
Porzingis' primary issue in the first half of Game 5 was his inability to affect the glass. Whenever Mitchell Robinson was in the game, and he played a whopping 15:21, Porzingis was getting dominated.
In all of his minutes, Porzingis only managed to grab one rebound, and it came off a missed Knicks free throw with nobody in blue and orange within 10 feet of him. Meanwhile, Kornet managed to snag three boards in his limited minutes.
At one point in the game, Kornet contested a shot on one side of the basket and was then forced to fight Robinson for the rebound on the other side, as Porzingis completely lost positioning.
Not only was Porzingis not strong enough to box out Robinson, but he looked incapable of positioning himself well enough to make any sort of impact on the glass at all.
On top of that, Porzingis' offensive game was ugly. He shot 0-of-3 from the field and 0-of-2 from behind the three-point line, scoring just one point in the first half after a 1-for-2 trip to the free-throw line.
Kornet, on the other hand, was playing well out of the short roll, positioning himself beautifully underneath the basket for others to set him up, and giving the Celtics' offense a nice boost. He had four points and one assist in his minutes.
Where does Kristaps Porzingis' illness come into play?
Porzingis has been dealing with an illness for a few months now. Though he returned to play in mid-March, he has been suffering from the remnants of the issue for most of the postseason.
However, if he's not capable of playing up to the level that the Celtics need him to, he shouldn't be on the court.
Third quarter update: The Luke Kornet Show
Kornet started the third quarter in place of Porzingis, and immediately, the positive results began to roll in. He was dominating the offensive glass, giving drivers a perfect dump-off option, and destroying the Knicks in the paint as a defender. Kornet racked up four blocks in the third quarter alone.
