Kristaps Porzingis Proving to be Reliable Option for Wizards
The Wizards big-man Kristaps Porzingis has proven to be a valuable pickup since his arrival from the Dallas Mavericks in the middle of last season. Porzingis was brought in particularly to help Bradley Beal and while they are still learning to gel, their chemistry is slowly but surely coming together.
“I love playing with him. He takes so much attention away from me,” Porzingis said. “On those curls, the big has to help, otherwise he has a layup. I wish we would have gotten more time to play together tonight [against the Detroit Pistons]. But the minutes we did have together, he was getting the ball to where it needs to go.”
Porzingis was also getting the ball to where it needed to go, coming in hot as the Pistons matchup unfolded on Tuesday night. He knocked down two three-pointers in the first quarter, dialing up a quick ten points.
Those minutes he did have with Beal resulted in a beautiful lob pass that Porzingis perfectly slammed into the basket.
With Beal exiting the game for an extended period of time with back tightness, Porzingis continued to work well alongside Will Barton who stepped in to substitute. Barton added 16 points with Kyle Kuzma's 25 points.
Regardless of who is on the court, Porzingis is proving himself to be a reliable rim protector and scorer for the Wizards. Through the initial three games of the regular season, he has recorded multiple double-doubles for the first time in his career.
Porzingis entered the Pistons matchup coming off an 18-point, 11 rebound game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Washington ultimately took care of the Pistons with a 120-99 win. Porzingis finished with a season-high 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting, also hauling in seven rebounds and dishing out two assists.
