WATCH: Porzingis Looks Ready for Mavs’ NBA Playoff Push
After two long months without basketball, the NBA finally approved a plan to resume the 2019-2020 season on Thursday, and if Dallas Mavericks superstar Kristaps Porzingis’ recent Instagram story is any indication, the ‘Unicorn’ is ready to hit the ground running.
Our eyes have been deprived of Mavs basketball for so long, that it’s exciting to see Porzingis in action, even if it’s only a video of him shooting jumpers in an empty gym - presumably in his native Latvia, as he readies to return to the States in the coming days.
His shooting form looks as good as it ever has and even seems to have a little more arc to it than what we’re used to seeing.
Before the season was suspended, Porzingis was averaging 19.2 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game overall, but that doesn’t tell the full story of how well he was playing in the second half of the season. In his last 15 games, Porzingis was averaging 25.2 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 46.5-percent from the field and 36.4-percent from deep.
The Mavs will play eight more regular-season games before they begin their first playoff quest in over three years. It will be an unconventional NBA postseason for sure, but it will also be the first for both Porzingis and his superstar running mate Luka ("Playoff Luka'') Doncic. And, as we recently discussed on Episode 60 of our Mavs Step Back Podcast, this campus-style setup that teams will experience at Disney World seems to favor younger teams like the Mavs, and especially guys like Doncic and Porzingis, who are used to playing in a similar postseason framework overseas.
Here at DallasBasketball.com, our 'phrase of hope' in recent days has been, "unprecedented circumstances could yield unprecedented results." The Mavs were 40-27 before this layoff, and that was with Doncic and Porzingis each missing at least 13 games. With those two 100-percent healthy, we believe anything could happen.
