A player wants to prove himself, and in this league right now, the best way is probably to play a game with the Lakers. Yesterday's Wizards game against the Lakers became the best stepping stone for Porzingis to prove himself.
Porzingis was upset by the Lakers' defense in the first three quarters, scoring just 11 points on 3-of-10 shooting. But in the fourth quarter, when Vogel sent the Death Five, Porzingis laughed and blossomed.
He kept hitting shots on the head of Reeves at 1.96m and Westbrook at 1.91m, all he had to do was stand at the free throw line and aim the ball at the basket. Throughout the fourth quarter, Porzingis scored 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting to lead the team to victory.
In the whole game, Porzingis had 27 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists, and 27 points were the new highs for his Washington Wizards. Although Dinwiddie played amazingly in the Lone Ranger, as a trading partner, Bo Shen was also okay in the Wizards.
He played in seven games for the Wizards, averaging 20.6 points, 7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 blocks in 25.4 minutes per game, shooting 50.0 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from three-point range.
Pop was very excited after the game, saying that Porzingis reminded him of Nowitzki: "They are both tall, they can hit turn jump shots, and both are difficult to block and defend. ”
The last team to consider Porzingis to be Nowitzki's successor was his old club Lone Ranger. On the first day of February 2019, Porzingis, who was extremely disappointed in New York, was traded to the Lone Ranger, and Cuban was greeted with great joy in what he thought was Doncic's best helper.
At that time, the public opinion was that these two Europeans would rule the NBA in the future, and the youth inside and outside made people full of expectations. And as a big shooter, when you play for the Lone Ranger, it naturally makes fans think of Nowitzki.
Cuban gave Porzingis a five-year, 158 million maximum salary extension contract when Porzingis was still recuperating, and Porzingis also responded with Lee's rapid adaptation to the lone ranger system, and he changed to playing center for the team in the fourth position.
Everything was fine for both sides during the initial honeymoon period, but in the playoffs for two consecutive years, Porzingis disappointed the fans. His inopportune injuries, his weak defensive frame, his poor shooting choices and shooting percentage have driven fans and Cuban crazy.
All along, Porzingis had a great time on the Lone Ranger, with his European compatriots, a very good relationship with Doncic, and his first playoff time. It's just that things are not under his control, he can't control his injuries, and it's hard to make his shooting rate better overnight.
Last offseason, the Lone Ranger was trying to sell Porzingis, but it didn't make the trip. By the end of the season's trade, Porzingis had reached the point where he had to go, and the Lone Ranger called the other 29 teams one by one, and the offer was reduced to the lowest.
So the Lone Ranger packed him up with a second round in exchange for two players who were then considered to be carrying garbage contracts. The implication is that the Lone Ranger has long treated his contract as a garbage contract.
When trading to Porzingis in 2019, Cuban said: "I was shocked to learn that he could be traded". Three years later, when it was learned that Porzingis had been accepted, it was not known what Cuban felt.
Yesterday, after the game, the reporter asked Porzingis whether Doncic could become a new facade of the league after James retired. Porzingis replied:
"He has such talent and ability, he plays at a very high level and unbelievable numbers, of course, young people like Tatum, Morant are also excellent, but Luca is Luca."
The place in a person's heart is limited, it is impossible to accommodate so many people, and the arrival of some people is doomed to the departure of some people.
Luca is Luca, and he will surely be the league's brightest superstar in the coming years. It's just a pity that you can't go alongside him anymore.