badinage wrote:What we saw the other night was what, I hope, we’re going to see: the Zinger working out of the high post.
He doesn’t need to be on the block — and actually he shouldn’t be. Nor should he be allowed to drift out to 3 with regularity. The high post is where his skills are showcased. It’s perfect. And we saw the offense when he was there. Pulling defenders away, or even just making them watch him. And the ball swung. Lanes were open. Space was created. A thing of beauty.
He doesn’t have to bang, and yet he can still be a force.
This is closer to where I am. He doesn't have to bang down low to have a strong effect.
Before this year Porzingis was a career .363 shooter from 3. That's decent. Good for a big. To be of significant use he just needs to return to form on his outside shot and stay healthy. There are those who would make the argument that because the Zinger is listed as a Center, that his stats should reach a certain marker of rebounds, FG%, etc. If this hard and fast rule is violated then he is a terrible player because he is a Center and all Centers xyz.
However. Tall as he is, his best role is different than most centers on offense. His job on that end is to invert the defense and draw opposing bigs outside. Yes centers are getting quicker etc, however, they are still slower to recover than smalls, and at 7'3" with a jumper that is held high overhead Porzingis forces bigs to guard him close. He is still a threat to blow past many bigger slower centers, but he is tall enough to shoot over most of the quicker ones. More importantly he opens up the interior for other players to score.
He doesn't have to be an all-star in this role, just good enough to force teams to guard him straight up. Consider the effect Bertans had in inverting the court when he was hitting his 3's. He forced teams to send a PF to the outside, which bumped up the shooting percentages of the players sharing the court with him. A Porzingis who hits 3's will have the same effect drawing either Big outside, centers or the PF. Porzingis' offensive rebound numbers will look anemic, BUT, so will the defensive boards of opposing Bigs.
That point is key though. With a big shooting from outside you need proficient rebounders at the wing and forward positions. Long rebounds will be available for heads-up players to scoop. We are deep in multi-position players 6'7" and up. We can play small ball with tall players. Kuzma, Deni, Kispert, Gill, Satoransky are all smart players who play the spaces between opponents. Timing, cutting, passing, opportunistic rebounding. Then there is Rui who has tended to drive into the teeth of the defense, but with more space on the interior I can see him developing confidence and timing to attack the middle with aggression and success.
None of it makes our squad world beaters, but a smart coach can use what Porzingis does well to make the players around him better. I'm intrigued to see how it works, when he is healthy.
