Kristaps Porzingis discusses his early exit against the Detroit Pistons.
Kristaps Porzingis played just 11 minutes against the Detroit Pistons before exiting the game with an injury.
Porzingis was playing in his third straight game, and his fifth game in the last six for the Warriors, showing signs of remaining healthy after battling injury and illness all season with the Atlanta Hawks and now the Warriors.
Prior to this recent stretch, he had played in just two games since being acquired by the Warriors at the NBA trade deadline on February 5.
Before exiting against the Pistons, Porzingis was struggling from the field, contributing just five points on 1-5 shooting and 1-4 from three. He did add three rebounds and two blocks.
The Warriors ultimately lost, 115-101.
Kristaps Porzingis Speaks
Speaking to the media, Porzingis addressed how he was feeling and why he left early against the Pistons.
He said that his back was starting to spasm in the first quarter. He noted that he had back issues early in his career, but he's been good at managing things. After the game, he said his back was feeling tight and that it felt tight when he was cooling down.
Porzingis was hesitant in committing to playing against the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday. He has sat in back-to-back situations since returning to the lineup, but usually in the first game as opposed to the second. He said there was a possibility it loosens up, but reiterated that it was still tight.
The Warriors are listing him as out against his former team.
Since The Trade
The Warriors acquired Porzingis in exchange for Buddy Hield and Jonathan Kuminga at the trade deadline.
In seven games with the Warriors, he is averaging 14.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.3 assists. On March 16 against the Wizards, he tied his season high in points, dropping 30 on the lowly Wizards.
Porzingis has been an overall positive for the Warriors when he's been able to get on the court. The Warriors have a +5.1 net rating with him on the floor, though when you remove low leverage minutes, the net rating drops to a -1.5, indicating that much of his damage done on the floor is in situations that aren't competitive.
The minutes alongside Draymond Green have been extra rough as the two have a -21.2 net rating in 43 medium/high minutes. He has found success alongside Brandin Podziemski (+8.3 net rating in 65 minutes) and Gui Santos (+11.5 net rating in 61 minutes).
Of course, Porzingis has not played alongside Steph Curry, who has been sidelined since the end of January. The Warriors are hoping to get him back before the end of the month.