Kristaps Porzingis hasn’t let illness define his work ethic
Atlanta The Hawks were able to snap their seven game streak a string of losses before the new year, and they had some reinforcements to help. After missing the last ten games while the Hawks shut him down, Kristaps Porzingis is back on the court and gave the team great incentive on both sides of the ball.
He finished the game with 16 points in 17 minutes and was a presence in the game, not allowing the Minnesota Timberwolves to get any easy shots. This is what the Hawks have been missing, but it’s still uncertain what Porzingis’ status will look like going forward with the illness he’s dealing with.
After their game against the Timberwolves, Porzingis was asked what he was able to do during his 10-game layoff, and it sounds like he’s been staying in shape while not playing.
“I just kept working. I didn’t completely walk away from everything,” Porzingis said. “I just took a step back and kept somewhat in shape, lifting, doing basketball workouts, etc. I let my system get to where I needed it to be and then bulked up a little bit.”
It looked like Porzingis didn’t miss a beat when he returned to the court.
“It was good, honestly. I knew I was going to have a pretty small minutes limit,” Porzingis said. “I went out there and played freely and just tried to add whatever I could to the team.
“Knowing that I’m going to have limited minutes, I want to go out there and be aggressive. I’ve been in situations like this, and I just want to come in and be myself, and I did. The first few fell short, but I never want to lose confidence.”
If the Hawks can get more Porzingis to step up, that would be good for them as they try to climb out of this hole they’ve created.
2026-01-02 21:08:00
