Mavs Stat of the Week: Why Kristaps Porzingis Struggles vs. 1 Team
Kristaps Porzingis recently claimed that "swag" is the main reason for the Dallas Mavericks’ rejuvenated play this calendar year. Either that ‘swag’ regressed to awkward energy, or the Golden State Warriors are really just that good.
Tuesday night saw the Warriors undress the Mavs on a nationally televised game. Porzingis, to this point, exhibiting his best defensive campaign as a Maverick this season, succumbed to the Warriors' defense by shooting just 4-of-15 from the field and 1-of-7 from deep for nine points.
This week's ‘Mavs Stat of the Week’ magnifies Porzingis' struggles vs. the Warriors' defense.
True Shooting Percentage: .300
While Tim Hardaway Jr's devastating injury comes as the most tragic moment in the Mavs blowout loss to the Warriors, Porzingis' shooting numbers take second place. When Dallas desperately needed its "second star," Porzingis registered a lowly .300 true shooting percentage.
What makes this particular KP performance disappointing is the fact that most of his shot attempts were wide open. Although Luka Doncic's running mate crashed the rim on a few occasions, a lot of sequences were reminiscent of last Porzingis' shot profile from last season—turnaround jumpers on smaller defenders and overall stagnant off-ball movement.
In fairness to Porzingis, his shot selection on the perimeter was good. However, considering his career-low 28 percent from distance this season, the results aren't exactly a coincidence.
The Warriors' defenders pushed Porzingis to the point of oblivion, and it's not the first time that has happened. Last season, the Warriors held Porzingis to a .446 true shooting percentage even though Dallas came away victorious.
Perhaps it's just the case of a bad matchup, but Dallas can't afford for Porzingis to slip back to his bad habits from last season, especially come playoff time.
