BREAKING: Kristaps Porzingis Returns for Mavs Christmas Game vs. Jazz
After missing two consecutive games with what the Dallas Mavericks listed as “toe soreness,” Kristaps Porzingis will make his return to action on Christmas night as his shorthanded team takes on the Utah Jazz.
The Jazz, who gave the biggest point differential in the NBA, are currently 13.5-point favorites over the Mavs. Dallas, despite getting some much-needed help from Porzingis’ return, will still be down eight players for the Christmas night matchup, and five of the absences are due to the league’s health and safety protocols.
So far this season, Porzingis has averaged 19.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.6 blocks while playing 29.9 minutes per game. Although Porzingis has stayed close to his career-high 53-percent on two-pointers that was achieved last season, his overall field goal percentage has dropped nearly four full points due to him shooting a career-worst 28.3-percent from deep this season.
Overall, Porzingis has missed nine of the Mavs 31 games, and all of his missed games were due to some sort of ‘soreness’ (back, knee and toe). As concerning as it is when KP sits out a handful of games, it’s encouraging that he’s been able to come back from these last two ailments after just a couple of games.
This brings hope that the Mavs are simply just being cautious with Porzingis in order to have the healthiest version of him come playoff time… well… or “play-in time,” if you look at the current Western Conference standings, where Dallas is occupying the 7th seed, which is the first play-in tournament seed.
Porzingis’ return might not be enough to lift the undermanned Mavs to a ‘Christmas Miracle’ victory over a tough Jazz team, but it’s nice to see the big man get back out there regardless. Let’s see what he can do.
