Celtics’ Kristaps Porzingis Explains Source Of ‘Extra Passion’

BOSTON — The potential on-floor fit worries surrounding Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis went out the window quickly.

It was already known what Porzingis could bring to the table even before Boston acquired the 7-foot-3 center in a three-team blockbuster during the offseason. But playing with a down-on-their-luck Washington Wizards team after a failed run with the Dallas Mavericks, Porzingis needed yet another change in scenery — and it was evident.

Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens came to the rescue, adding Porzingis to an already-talented Boston roster. One added sweetener of playing with the C’s — and there’s plenty to choose from — has so far kept the 28-year-old motivated when suiting up each night: marquee matchups.

“It definitely gives me extra passion. It’s just natural for all of us players,” Porzingis said after Boston’s 119-116 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night. “We wanna play in front of big crowds, great energy. For me, maybe a little bit too much because I have to relax a little bit. But, of course, enjoying it and I can kind of compare it to my rookie year and my first few years in the league when I was playing for the Knicks.”

Porzingis added: “It adds more fuel to already the passion that I have for the game to play hard and you wanna make the right play for your team, for your teammates.”

Taking on the new-look Bucks for the first time, it was evident that Porzingis once again fed off the energy from Boston’s TD Garden crowd.

Porzingis finished the night with 21 points, six rebounds and one assist, playing tit-for-tat with Jaylen Brown. The two have proven to be a picture-perfect tandem when played alongside, taking massive advantages of the pick-and-roll to exploit defenses like Milwaukee’s and get to the rim effortlessly — almost as if the two have played together for multiple seasons.

“I absolutely love playing with JB,” Porzingis said. “I think we’re starting to connect more and more, and it’s becoming just natural for us. I’m learning his game, I’m learning the situations he likes to be in. And as you can see we’re having some success with it and it’s really fun.”

Granted, there’s still plenty of basketball left to play, but the dividends of Stevens’ offseason work continue paying off on the floor.