Kristaps Porzingis Shares First Reaction to Warriors Debut

The Golden State Warriors returned from the All-Star break on Thursday night with something new to show Chase Center: Kristaps Porzingis in a Warriors uniform.

The debut did not go smoothly, as the Boston Celtics rolled to a 121-110 win, but Porzingis came away feeling optimistic.

Despite calling his performance "far from perfect," the 7-foot-2 big man said he felt good physically and left believing the best is still ahead.

"As the game went on, just felt better and better," Porzingis said. "And I think this is a good, like, first step to keep building."

Porzingis did not take the floor until the second quarter, and the early stretch was ugly.

He was a minus-19 in his first seven minutes as the Celtics went on a 17-2 run, and Golden State fell behind by as many as 34 in the third.

But the game turned in the fourth, and so did Porzingis.

He scored 7 of his 12 total points in the final frame while posting a plus-12 in just five minutes, helping spark a Warriors run that cut the deficit to 11.

He finished 5-for-9 from the field and 2-for-5 from three in 17 minutes off the bench, including a 31-foot bomb that showed off his range, and added a block that gave the Warriors a taste of the rim protection they have been looking for.

Golden State acquired Porzingis from the Atlanta Hawks the night before the trade deadline, giving up Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield to land him.

It was not a cheap price for a team sitting at 29-27 and holding the eighth seed in the West.

Kuminga was one of the team's younger pieces and Hield a reliable shooter, so this was a real sacrifice.

The bigger concern, though, is health. Porzingis has battled Achilles tendinitis for much of this season and had not played since January 7 before Thursday's game.

His injury history goes back further than that, including a torn ACL that cost him the entire 2018-19 season.

Golden State made the move knowing all of it, betting that a healthy Porzingis is worth the gamble down the stretch.

Steve Kerr has been excited about the fit, pointing to his ability to run pick-and-pops and space the floor as tools that plug in naturally alongside Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.

Porzingis is listed as probable for Sunday's home game against the Denver Nuggets, and his minutes are expected to grow as his conditioning improves.

The Warriors have been excited about what he could bring since he arrived in the Bay Area, and Thursday gave them a reason to stay that way.

His debut was bumpy, but the fourth quarter showed what this team could look like when he gets rolling. With 26 games left in the regular season, Golden State needs him to keep building on it.