"There was some responsibility": Kristaps Porzingis on replacing Marcus Smart's locker room presence, Celtics' NBA-best 23-6 start (Exclusive)

Just like how a large segment of Boston Celtics fans felt, Kristaps Porzingis also harbored questions on how he would fit in with a team that just dealt its valued defender and locker-room leader to acquire him.

“What they’re giving up for me was a big piece of this team --- Marcus Smart,” Porzingis told Sportskeeda. “I’m having to come in and not replace him, but come in with who I am and bring what I bring to a team. There was some responsibility.”

It is a responsibility, however, that Porzingis has handled well. The Celtics partly addressed Smart’s defensive absence by acquiring Jrue Holiday from Portland after Milwaukee dealt him as part of the Damian Lillard trade. But the Celtics (23-6) enter Thursday’s game against the Detroit Pistons (2-28) with the Eastern Conference’s best record also because of Porzingis’ seamless fit.

Porzingis ranks third on the team in points per game (19.6) while shooting a career-best 53.3% clip. Porzingis also set a franchise record for the highest-scoring debut (30 points) while also becoming the first player in NBA history to record five 3s and four blocks in any team debut. With Porzingis’ unique offensive skills as a post-up man, outside shooter and floor spacer, Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (26.9 points on 47.7% shooting) and Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (22.6 points on 47.8% shooting) have more room to operate as both scorers and playmakers.

“It starts with JT and JB,” Porzingis told Sportskeeda. “They’re sacrificing a little bit. They’re making the right reads and the right plays for everybody. It’s a chain reaction. If they’re doing it, then everybody is going to be doing it.”

Still, the Celtics have already advanced to four Eastern Conference Finals (2017-2018; 2020; 2023) and one NBA Finals (2022) by largely relying on Tatum and Brown. Through each stop, Brown and Tatum showed varying progress with improving their efficiency, reducing their ball dominance and enhancing their shot selection.

Meanwhile, Porzingis has experienced both an intriguing and challenging career in New York (2015-18), Dallas (2019-22) and Washington (2022-23). Intriguing because Porzingis has sparked both praise for his scoring and playmaking and concern on his ability to co-exist with other stars. Challenging because he has nursed serious injuries to both of his knees and his back.

After having a break-out season with his both his play and durability in Washington, however, Porzingis has mostly stayed healthy during his first season in Boston. Though he has missed games to treat his left calf (six), left ankle (one) and right knee (one), Porzingis said he has healed from all of those ailments. Since last season, Porzingis has strengthened his lower body by consistently completing lunges and squats to shed excess weight, improve his balance and relieve pressure from his joints.

“Just keeping my same routine and making sure that I take care of my body. It’s been paying off,” Porzingis told Sportskeeda. “All of those small injuries and not-so-small injuries have been helping me figure out ways to keep my body as healthy as possible. Of course, there are some contact stuff where somebody goes underneath you, and you roll your ankle. Those things are going to happen. But it’s important that I do everything on my side to make sure that I stay healthy.”

How has Kristaps Porzingis fared on the new-look Boston Celtics?

For better or for worse, the Celtics will discover through the rest of the 2023-24 campaign whether Porzingis will stay durable amid his recent efforts to improve his training regimen.

As Boston enjoys the early returns so far, however, it hardly has any concern about Porzingis’ fit.

“You’re seeing KP kind of reinvent himself as far as how we play a different style offense with him,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “He’s not getting the off-ball actions that he was [getting earlier in his career.”

No matter. The Celtics fare sixth in total offense (121.3 points per game) and 10th in shooting percentage (48%). The Celtics consistently have excelled in a five-out system because of the team’s positional versatility and teamwork. And Boston’s primary starting lineup (Tatum, Brown, Porzingis, Holiday, Jrue Holiday) has gone 15-1 together and represents the league’s second-best five-man net rating among lineups that logged at least 250 minutes together. (+19.6).

In a combined 282 minutes (17.6 per game), that lineup has produced a stellar offensive rating (122.2) and defensive rating (102.5). That tops the Milwaukee Bucks’ starting lineup featuring Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, Khris Middleton, Malik Beasley and Brook Lopez (14.0 net rating in a combined 304 minutes). That also eclipses the Denver Nuggets’ starting lineup featuring Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (17.7 net rating in a combined 311 minutes).

In contrast to conventional wisdom, however, their second-most used lineup featuring Al Horford in place of Porzingis with the other team’s starters has produced a negative net rating of -1.6 (112.2 in offensive rating, 113.8 defensive rating). However, when Horford and Porzingis have played with Tatum, Brown and Holiday in a combined 59 minutes in 13 games, the Celtics have produced a 29.3 net rating.

Plenty of these reasons point back to Porzingis. He has forced defenders to cover the perimeter, which has given more room for his teammates to maneuver in the paint. He has also prompted defenders to pay attention to him inside, which has created open 3-pointers for his teammates. He has developed an effective two-man game with Brown based on connecting with each other off screens, dribble handoffs and backdoor cuts. He has brought more structure and organization to the Celtics’ crunch-time offense that previously centered on either Tatum or Brown playing in isolation.

“We haven’t had a low post presence like that since I’ve been on the Celtics,” Tatum said. “It creates so many problems. Are you going to switch us? Are you going to be in drop (coverage)? If you’re in drop, when the big gets back to KP and he’s playing a closeout, he can move so well. Put somebody smaller on him, and he can obviously move over the top. And then do you help? Do you double-team him? Or do you kick it out to myself, D White, KP or JB? I’m just happy to be on this side of it because I think we present a lot of problems.”

No wonder Porzingis flashed a wide smile as he stood by his locker following the Celtics’ win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas Day. As he reflected on his own concerns after Boston acquired him last offseason, Porzingis expressed gratitude he has joined the right environment to unlock the best version of himself.

“I enjoy that challenge with adding another dimension to this team,” Porzingis told Sportskeeda. “So far, it’s been great playing alongside these guys.”

Mark Medina is an NBA insider for Sportskeeda. Follow him on X, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.