In today’s Dub Hub:
- Kristaps Porzingis reflects on his Warriors’ debut in 121–110 loss to the Celtics.
- The San Francisco Standard’s Tim Kawakami sits down with Warriors owner Joe Lacob to discuss Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Green, and more.
- According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the NBA is considering new anti-tanking measures for next season.
Kristaps Porzingis made his Golden State Warriors debut Thursday night against the Boston Celtics. While the team’s newest big man showed some signs of rust after nearly a month away from game action, he said afterward that he’s feeling good despite being “far from perfect shape.”
Porzingis finished with 12 points in 17 minutes, shooting 5-of-9 from the field, along with one rebound, one assist, and one block. He also committed two turnovers — something head coach Steve Kerr said is to be expected as the 7-foot-2 center continues adjusting to the Warriors’ system.
For now, the numbers matter less for Porzingis — especially without Stephen Curry available. He settled in as the game went on, hitting deep threes and offering rim protection when the opportunity was there.
If that progression continues, Porzingis could quickly become a key piece for a team looking to find its footing and make a late push toward the postseason.
For more on this and other news around the NBA, here is our latest news round-up for Friday, February 20th:
Warriors News:
What we learned as Kristaps Porzingis debuts in Warriors’ loss to Celtics | NBC Sports Bay Area
It didn’t matter if it was off the dribble or from cuts, the Celtics’ offense made burnt toast out of the Warriors’ defense. It didn’t matter if it was the glass, the paint or trying to go body-on-body, Boston owned the trenches. The Warriors watched the Celtics assert themselves and didn’t have any answers.
In the first quarter, in which the Warriors only trailed by four points, the Celtics doubled them in rebounds (16 to eight) and scored 10 more points in the paint (18 to eight). By halftime, in which the Warriors now were facing a 23-point deficit, the Celtics had 24 rebounds to the Warriors’ 14 and doubled them in points in the paint, 32 to 16.
Kawakami: Joe Lacob on Porzingis, trading Kuminga, and why the Warriors won’t tank | The San Francisco Standard
Could you have gotten more for Kuminga if you’d looked hard to trade him a year or two ago?
“I don’t think so,” Lacob said. “People say I loved him as a player, I was protecting him, I was whatever. That’s just not true. I did like him. I like all our players. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be acquiring them if we didn’t all like them. But you know, it just didn’t work. It looked like it was going to work. It was off and on a lot.”
My sit-down interview with Steph Curry | NBA Today
NBA News:
NBA plans to enact anti-tanking rules next season, sources say | ESPN
Sources with knowledge of Thursday’s meeting as well as a late January competition committee meeting told ESPN that these concepts have been discussed to curb tanking:
- First-round draft picks can be protected only for top-four or top-14-plus selections
- Lottery odds freeze at the trade deadline or a later date
- No longer allowing a team to pick in the top four in consecutive years and/or after consecutive bottom-three finishes
- Teams can’t pick in the top four the year after making the conference finals
- Lottery odds allocated based on two-year records
- Lottery extended to include all play-in teams
- Flatten odds for all lottery teams
Cade Cunningham’s 42 points vs. Knicks leads Pistons to fourth-straight win
In case you missed it at Golden State of Mind:
Warriors vs. Celtics player grades: Kristaps Porziņģis debuts
Will Richard
24 minutes, 17 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 3 fouls, 6-for-11 shooting, 3-for-7 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 71.5% TS, -13
Richard had a huge sequence in the first quarter. After Boston had pushed the lead to 10 points, Richard drained threes on both ends of the two-for-one to end the frame, getting the Dubs right back into it. The team couldn’t maintain that performance, but Richard did. He was one of their biggest offensive weapons, and his defense was swarming. I’m looking forward to seeing how he finishes out his highly successful rookie campaign.
Grade: A
A post to end the week:
Follow @unstoppablebaby on X for all the latest news on the Golden State Warriors.