Luke Kornet has been a valuable contributor off the bench for the Celtics when he gets a chance to play, as was the case Thursday night against the Pistons. Matt Stone/Boston Herald
BOSTON — The Boston Celtics didn’t break much of a sweat Thursday night in their runaway 123-99 win over the Detroit Pistons at TD Garden. The absences of Jayson Tatum and Sam Hauser gave a bigger opportunity to Boston’s bench, and many players took advantage. Payton Pritchard led Boston in both points (27) and assists (10), but it was someone else who Joe Mazzulla singled out after the game for his impact: Luke Kornet.
“Luke’s physicality was a game-changer for us in the middle of that first quarter on both ends of the floor,” Mazzulla said. “With him, he does a great job of playing off – he can play by himself, he can play with KP (Kristaps Porzingis), he can play with Al (Horford). When those different lineups are out there, we take advantage of his defensive versatility, but he does a great job playing off the other guys on the offensive end, and you kind of saw that with his screening, his cutting and his passing and his offensive rebounds. So I thought his physicality really helped us there in his first stint.”
Kornet played just 12 minutes but was 5 of 5 from the field as he finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. He also was a plus-16, helping Boston build a double-digit lead in the first quarter and expand it in the third quarter.
Nearly all of his minutes came alongside Porzingis, who enjoyed playing alongside the added bulk in the middle.
“I like it, to be honest,” Porzingis said. “Of course, like, there’s like pros and cons to both options, but of course our rebounding is a little bit better. I can be a bit more aggressive and maybe trust that there’s somebody else that can alter shots at the rim. That just gives me more confidence also. I think we can definitely play both ways and we can be effective and dangerous both ways.”
The Celtics likely went to the look more on Thursday night because a pair of their best wings were sidelined, but it certainly made life tough at the rim for the Pistons, who failed to make Boston pay beyond the arc. With the Celtics showing a little bit of a defensive drop-off compared to last year in the first 20 games, Kornet’s impact in the middle has been valuable alongside Porzingis or Horford.
“Those guys can all play off each other,” Mazzulla said. “They do a great job. Sometimes it’s a little slower because we’re trying to figure out the coverage, and the matchup, and who’s on who, and how we can get to our spacing, but their basketball IQ and their skill allows them to play, and we can take advantage of that versatility.”
A healthy front court may continue to limit Kornet’s opportunities on certain nights, but his chemistry with Boston’s regulars makes him an appealing option. Horford only had to play 20 minutes Thursday, and that’s a number the team will want to keep down all year long. Kornet’s emergence should make that easy for Mazzulla.
WITH EACH PASSING game, it’s clear Porzingis looks more and more like his normal self. He had 19 points and eight rebounds in his 30 minutes Thursday.
But it’s a process to get back into game shape coming off multiple months of surgery rehab. Porzingis has played in six games since coming back Nov. 25 against the Clippers, so he’s gotten some run under him. He’s not all the way back to his normal self, but he’s close.
“I was three months without really being able to go up and down, like really get some really good cardio in,” Porzingis said. “That also plays a role, obviously. I think a couple more games, and I’ll be where I need to be.”
NBA players often talk about how there’s nothing that can simulate game speed. That’s natural, considering these are the best basketball players in the world playing against each other. Porzingis also mentioned how he couldn’t do anything after surgery over the summer.
While Porzingis has played well in his return, the team continues to be cautious with its talented big man. He won’t play in back-to-backs for the foreseeable future. Fortunately, the chemistry hasn’t missed a beat, especially with Jaylen Brown, as Porzingis and Brown have been dubbed “cookies and cream.”
The Celtics are still a juggernaut through the opening months of the season. They’ve done a large part of their damage without Porzingis, but it’s clear what the big man brings to both ends of the court.
He’s a reliable post-up presence and doubly dangerous when working against smaller defenders, much like he did in the Pistons win. His rim protection is also massive, as teams have to adjust whenever they get too close to Porzingis. So the Celtics will hope they can unleash Porzingis at his best, though he looks a lot like the gamebreaking talent they traded for two summers ago.
“I’m getting there,” Porzingis said. “Honestly, I was before this, I’m always better when I’m in a rhythm of games. Now we have again, like three days off, so it’s almost like it takes me one game to get back to open up my lungs a little bit more.”
