Kristaps Porzingis’ week had been troubling enough. On Saturday evening, he looked up to see something angling to make it even worse: James Harden dribbling directly at him.
Six days earlier, Porzingis had been sidelined with back tightness, another setback after starting the season three weeks late and looking physically unfit throughout. That same evening, a report alleged he wasn’t an untouchable part of the team’s future. Mark Cuban denied that the organization had ever discussed him in trades, but Rick Carlisle did acknowledge the big man wasn’t playing defense to the team’s expectations — or his own. As has often been the case in his career, Porzingis’ body was holding him back from being the player he should be.
Porzingis missed two more games with the back injury, which would be minor news another week.
