Kristaps Porzingis assured Atlanta Hawks fans that his recent illness is not the same one he had last season with the Boston Celtics. He dealt with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), where his heart rate would spike, and his energy would drop just by standing up.
The one-time NBA All-Star returned on the court in the Atlanta Hawks’ 134-133 loss against the Denver Nuggets, where he had 25 points, two blocks, and four three-pointers on 9-for-13 shooting in 20 minutes off the bench.
“I wouldn’t say it was the same thing,” Porzingis told Malik Brown of ClutchPoints. “I just wasn’t feeling too good. Not being healthy, but I wouldn’t say it was the same stuff from last season, so that’s good. I think I put that behind me, even this summer playing for the national team, but just catching anything, it’s frustrating. I wanna be healthy, and I will be healthy.”
“I only played 20 minutes, but I felt good the first game back. Obviously, I had some bumps, but I wanna be out there. It’s killing me not to be perfectly healthy, but now I feel on the right track. I felt great tonight, you can see by the way I was moving in those 20 minutes. I’m happy about that, and I look forward to building on top of this game,” he continued.
Atlanta Hawks News: Quin Snyder discusses Kristaps Porzingis’ current role and minutes
Kristaps Porzingis came off the bench for the first time with the Atlanta Hawks, and the one-time NBA champion did well against the Denver Nuggets. Quin Snyder was asked about whether he’d keep bringing the Latvian center off the bench, but the veteran coach said it is a fluid situation at this point.
“With our team, with (Jalen Johnson), (Onyeka Okongwu), and Porzingis, we’ve got guys that can play in combination. I think those things are fluid for us,” Snyder explained.
“Injuries have dictated a lot of our lineups and matchups, and we’ll just keep evaluating that and do what we think is the best thing for the team. I think one of the good things about this group is it’s a really selfless group, and those guys play for each other,” he concluded.
