Porziņģis was arguably the Celtics' second-best player during the regular season (behind Tatum, of course). And his absence through most of the first three rounds was probably an underappreciated factor in their run.
There was plenty of talk during his absence about Boston underwhelming against the Jimmy Butler-less Miami Heat, mostly Donovan Mitchell-less Cleveland Cavaliers and partially Tyrese Haliburton-less Indiana Pacers, but it may have been misguided.
The more important point was probably that the Celtics went 12-2 prior to the Finals anyway. And now that Porziņģis is back in action, Boston might be unstoppable against his former team.
During his two-plus seasons with the Mavericks, they were slightly worse with KP on the floor, but he's become a significantly more efficient scorer over the last two seasons with the Washington Wizards and Celtics.
And on Thursday, he looked laser-focused on punishing his old team.
Now, of course, winning a championship was likely every bit as motivating for Porziņģis as beating the Mavericks. Whatever the reason, he was dominant.
Porziņģis had 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting, was plus-13 and had three blocks in just 21 minutes. His ability to hit perimeter shots forced Dallas' bigs to scramble outside. And his rim protection had Mavericks slashers struggling inside.
As long as his calf continues to hold up, it's hard to imagine Dallas winning Porziņģis' minutes.
