OKLAHOMA CITY – Kristaps Porzingis showed his anger, a little bit, as he sat in the press conference room visiting Paycom Center and gave an honest analysis of his performance Saturday night.
After sitting out more than two weeks as he recovered from a mysterious illness, running up and down the court for 23 minutes during the Warriors’ 104-97 loss to the Thunder took its toll on the 30-year-old center.
“My legs are heavy. I’m probably going to watch film and hate the way I moved,” Porzingis said. “But I’m going to get there. I’m going to get my legs under me and move the way I want and open my lungs up and put in some cardio. There’s no other way to get it than just playing.”
The stat sheet — 3-of-9 shooting, nine points, five rebounds, five assists and a block — didn’t tell the story of his night.
But it showed signs of a big man who was playing only his second game with the team since being acquired on February 5 from the Hawks for Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield.
You drew many mistakes in the post. He excelled at protecting the rim alongside Draymond Green and Al Horford in super-sized programs. He passed 10 times in Golden State’s motion offense. He gave coach Steve Kerr real power on the low block.
“You see what kind of weapon he is, and the kind of size he gives us,” Kerr said. “We’re just finding combinations and actions that we want to run with him, and through him, so it’s going to take a little time, but it’s really encouraging to see him there.”
And among the highlights and the many lowlights there was a sense of relief.
“The most important thing is that I feel good, and that just gives me peace of mind,” he said. “I’m ready to move on.”
Porzingis was reluctant to explain what gave him and the team confidence that he can stay healthy with only 19 games left in the season.
Celtics doctors diagnosed him with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) over the summer, a condition characterized by chronic fatigue and frequent sickness, for which there is no known cure.
Did the sudden illness that befell him on Feb. 22, it came to light again on Feb. 28 right before the Lakers game, related to POTS? Porzingis won’t say, instead shifting his focus to the future.
“This summer, I was just fine,” Porzingis said. “I don’t want to get into it too much, but I’m glad I’m feeling good now, and I really, really, really believe that I’m going to be healthy in that sense, with strength.”
During his absence, Kerr told local radio station 95.7 The Game that Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh told him that Porzingis did not have POTS.
Kerr later took those comments back. Porzingis assured reporters that he has no ill feelings toward Kerr over that, even if it was a little annoying for a while.
“It wasn’t good, because it also brought something out to people to start talking about this,” Porzingis said. “But I told Steve it was okay, and I know you didn’t mean to make me happy about my life. You just said whatever you knew at the time.”
Although Porzingis missed six games and stayed away from the Warriors on their trips to New Orleans and Memphis, he impressed his teammates whenever he was around.
Despite not being able to practice until the Thursday before the win in Houston, Porzingis did the opposite of throwing himself a pity party.
The heart and soul of the team you saw.
“We’re not an organization that goes around and looks at guys like, “Man, this guy could be good” or “Why isn’t he there?” We don’t do that, and you’ll never have to worry about getting to court. It’s not about who we are and how we operate,” said Green.
“He is not a boy who walks around and wants you to see that he is not well.
Porzingis pointed to Green as a teammate who has helped him get used to the Warriors’ locker room since joining the team last month.
When Porzingis exited Saturday night’s game following his exit from the bench four minutes into the first quarter, he made a beeline for Green.
The two spoke for about a minute, with Porzingis listening as Green described the various actions and reactions he had seen on the sidelines.
“Every time I have a question, he’s the guy who can give me a good understanding of what we’re looking for,” Porzingis said.
While Green was giving him quick advice, Kerr was plotting ways to get Porzingis involved. The Hall of Fame coach filled the playbook with posts — many seeing Green throw a touchdown pass — against Oklahoma City’s front line.
Those games had wild dreams of what would happen if – or when – Steph Curry returned from his battle with runner’s knee.
“It’s very helpful, especially when Steph is there, because he’s going to take two people out of the game,” Green said. “So if you can get those benefits, create those benefits, people will help a lot.”
Even without Curry, Porzingis got six free throws by beating his defenders, but the rust showed when the 84% foul shooter hit half of them.
The overall shooting range was rusty and understandably so, and it showed when Porzingis struggled on all three of his 3-point attempts.
Kerr did his best to keep Porzingis fresh, playing him four minutes of short ball followed by equal lengths on the bench.
But as Porzingis said, the only way he can build that strength is to play. Of course, the Warriors will always be on the lookout for his return.
Kerr has already said that Porzingis will not play Monday in Utah, which leaves him with a back-to-back Tuesday night in the Bay Area against the Bulls.
Porzingis believes there will be improvement from here for a team stuck in eighth place with a 32-31 record.
“I need to feel good about playing, and I feel like from now on, I’m building on this,” Porzingis said.
