The longer the shot, the more comfortable Kristaps Porzingis is taking them

Jayson Tatum was trying to make a move, but the ball was poked out of his hands and It rolled to the middle of the floor. Kristaps Porzingis, who was standing on the opposite side of the floor trying to give Tatum space, jogged up to the logo to pick the ball up. 

With a foot in the middle of the “K” in the Knicks logo, Porzingis turned, spotted the rim, and fired a 40-foot shot that perfectly splashed through the net. 

“The ball rolled to me and I said ‘this is destiny,’” Porzingis told reporters after Boston's overtime win in New York. “I just let it fly without thinking too much.” 

It was the longest in a night of long shots for Porzingis, who splashed eight triples for the second time this season.

“Those are the best kind of nights,” Porzingis said. “Just playing free, letting it fly, and shots are going in.” 

The NBA 3-point line is 23 feet, 9 inches around the top and 22 feet in the corners. In addition to that logo shot, Porzingis hit 3s from 30, 27 twice, 26, and 25 twice. He also managed to fit in a corner 3. 

“He was unbelievable,” Derrick White said. “He missed a couple early, and then just kept shooting from further and further away. … he was a big time for us today.”

There will be plenty of games where Porzingis punishes a switch by burying a smaller player in the post, or sometimes as a passer in the pick-and-roll. He’s joked about throwing a couple of Nikola Jokic-style passes this season, and he dropped a pretty dime to Sam Hauser early in this game.

There are a lot of ways for Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics to use Porzingis to exploit mismatches. 

“His physicality puts a ton of pressure on the defense,” Mazzulla said. “I thought his screening versus different coverages allows us to go to different things. It allows us to play different pick-and-roll combinations. It allows us to space them and have him as a spacer there. We're able to use his versatility in so many different ways.” 

But the shooting might be his most deadly weapon. Not only is he scoring points three at a time, he pulls the defense with him out to the farthest reaches of the court. Having to account for him at 30 feet puts opposing bigs in uncomfortable situations. Porzingis, though, loves it out there. 

“I've tried to see if my efficiency goes up the closer I am to the 3-point line, but it really doesn't,” Porzingis explained after the game. “I don't know why, I’m just comfortable shooting a little bit out. 

“And it also helps our offense, stretching the defense out even more, So if my efficiency doesn't change, then I just take those deeper ones and, I don't know, it's maybe a little bit more comfort just knowing the guy's not going to be able to get there at all for a decent contest.”

He’s not kidding about his efficiency. He’s shooting 42.1% this season on 25-29 footers. He’s taking more shots in that range per game (4.6) than he is from within five feet (3.5). That might sound ridiculous for a seven-footer, but his 98 makes from within five feet has led to 196 points while his 80 bombs between 25-29 feet have netted him 240. 

Porzingis crunched the numbers before coming to Boston, and the realization allowed him to play without fear of having only shoot from certain spots. 

“I was with (my trainer) … we were looking at it and he wanted me to shoot closer, and I did that throughout the summer. But then as the season started again, I kind of reverted back to my old habits and just started shooting further out. I did shoot a little bit closer, but then we checked the efficiency and it was the same, so we agreed that I was just going to do me and shoot them from wherever I feel comfortable.”

In overtime against the Knicks, he felt comfortable lining up from 30 feet, once again taking the pass against a defender who had no chance of bothering the shot, and burying it. 

“I just created a little bit of separation from (Jalen) Brunson,” Porzingis explained. “It was pretty deep one, and just let it fly without conscience.”

The Celtics didn’t play particularly well early on against the Knicks, but Porzingis showed why his health might be the most important thing in the NBA playoffs. If he’s healthy, even if other Celtics aren’t, he is uniquely capable of tilting a series Boston’s way. His shooting unlocks a lot for Boston’s offense because he can hit from anywhere on the floor. In a world where offenses are trying to get the shortest 3-pointers possible, Porzingis is thriving by going the other way.