Kristaps Porzingis, the Mavericks star center, missed games 4-6 in the Mavericks-Clippers playoff series last year.
He tore his meniscus, but he’ll be back in playoff action on Saturday.
Having a former All-Star in Porzingis back will surely make a difference.
He’s a complete center. He can score (20.1 points per game this year), he can swat (1.9 career blocks per game), he can rebound (8.9 career rebounds per game), and he can shoot (37.6% three-point percentage this year).
Porzingis has only been to the playoffs the one time last year, and couldn’t finish the series. He’ll be eager to get out there and prove himself.
Porzingis has had injuries plague him throughout his career, but is healthy right now.
Serge Ibaka, Ivica Zubac, DeMarcus Cousins, and whichever other bigs the Clippers will have guard Porzingis will for sure need to show up.
They’re absolutely capable of getting it done, though. Especially when considering that the Clippers held Porzingis to 11 points in one of their contests vs. the Mavericks this year.
I expect Porzingis to have a nice series, as he’s a tough player to play against. The Clippers have shown the ability to contain him, and I expect them to put up their fight too.
There is a player, however, that may not have the profile Porzingis does, but did play great ball vs. the Clippers this year.