Will the 2021/22 season be the one of Kristaps Porzingis’ comeback? This is what the Dallas franchise thinks, its owner Mark Cuban in the lead, as the Latvian pivot seems to finally be rid of injuries.
“This will be the first season with the Mavericks where he will arrive in good health”, said the club boss. “He is able to work on other things than rehabilitation, to prepare his body, to become stronger, to work on his game. Now he is going to have the chance to have a certain continuity and that is something that he is doing. he has not had effective since he was a rookie “.
KP was not spared last season after being hit in the meniscus of the right knee in the “bubble” at the end of the 2019/20 fiscal year. He then contracted a sprained ankle before experiencing knee pain again that kept him sidelined until mid-May, just before the end of the regular season. These repeated glitches have resulted in a lack of consistency in its overall performance.
Finding the best balance with Luka Doncic, Jason Kidd’s mission
The other source of hope for the Mavs is the arrival of Jason Kidd, who will be tasked with getting the most out of whoever is supposed to be his team’s number 2 weapon behind Luka Doncic. It may mean less outside shooting and more presence near the circle or halfway, a register in which KP can excel.
“With what J-Kidd and Nico (Harrison, the GM) have planned for them, I think him and Luka are going to be much better together and I think you are going to see a lot of things that are going to make us much better collectively ”, added Mark Cuban.
Jason Kidd has already started the process of cohesion of his two stars by going to meet them in Slovenia and Latvia during the summer. It remains to take advantage of the “training camp” to define the most effective strategy for everyone, with high standards and work ethic as the watchwords.
“We’re here to help develop guys. Everyone has to do their part and it starts with hard work ”, Jason Kidd recalled. “It’s a positive summer for KP. He is healthy. This is not a time when he comes out of an injury. I think he is very excited about this opportunity. He fits perfectly with Luka. He has a skill set that a lot of people don’t have in this league.
| Kristaps Porzingis | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Tirs | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Until | Pd | Fte | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2015-16 | NYK | 72 | 28 | 42.1 | 33.3 | 83.8 | 1.8 | 5.5 | 7.3 | 1.3 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 14.3 |
| 2016-17 | NYK | 66 | 33 | 45.0 | 35.7 | 78.6 | 1.7 | 5.5 | 7.2 | 1.5 | 3.7 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 18.1 |
| 2017-18 | NYK | 48 | 32 | 43.9 | 39.5 | 79.3 | 1.3 | 5.3 | 6.6 | 1.2 | 2.9 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 22.7 |
| 2019-20 | FROM | 57 | 32 | 42.7 | 35.2 | 79.9 | 1.8 | 7.7 | 9.5 | 1.8 | 3.3 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 20.4 |
| 2020-21 | FROM | 43 | 31 | 47.6 | 37.6 | 85.5 | 1.9 | 7.0 | 8.9 | 1.6 | 2.7 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 20.1 |
| Total | 286 | 31 | 44.1 | 36.1 | 80.9 | 1.7 | 6.1 | 7.8 | 1.5 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 18.7 | |
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