After Luke Korent’s impressive performance without Kristaps Porzingis, Abby Chin met up with him. They discuss Kornet Contest’s 3-1 record versus the Suns.
Notoriety is often attributed to Luke Kornet’s absurd on-court antics, his unproven 3-point defensive scheme, and his penchant to obliquely allude to testosterone in his post-game interviews.
Despite the ongoing concern from outside observers over the Celtics’ depth at center, the 7-foot-2 Kornet has quietly carried the load as Boston’s third center this season.
In Saturday’s victory in Phoenix, Kornet had a career-high five dunks and perhaps a career-high three Kornet Kontest victories. This season, in 45 games, he is averaging 5.0 points and Kon 3.9 rebounds over 14.7 minutes per game. He’s been a dependable big-man option, and his humor adds much-needed lightness to a squad that plays more like a business.
Before the All-Star break, watch the finest moments of Luke Kornet being mic’d up during the Celtics’ 50-point victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
The most startling change in Kornet across his several Boston trips is how he has changed.
.. Most of Kornet’s career field goal attempts have been made beyond the 3-point line, dating back to when he initially got here during the COVID roster shuffle of the 2020–21 season. Throughout his career, he attempted less than one-third of field goals from the rim.
Kornet has gone against the grain in a league where big guys usually shy away from the rim. Surprisingly, 91 percent of his shot attempts this season have been made near the basket. He has not made a single attempt at a 3-pointer. These days, Kornet is happy to finish offensive rebounds and make alley-oop passes for any offense he helps with.
When it comes to defense, we usually focus on the Kornet Kontest because of his inclination to leap straight up while extending his arms in the hopes of obstructing a shooter’s view of the rim when the player is too far away to really challenge the shot. We believe it is reasonable to infer from anecdotal evidence that the success rate varies greatly.
The Kontest is especially good on a night when a team like the Suns shoots 29 percent from outside the arc. Other nights, shooters don’t appear to be phased by his attempts (but occasionally we worry about the rebounding position he could give up). We believe that a more thorough investigation would reveal that the Kontest closely resembles Kornet’s 3-point defense as a whole.
It should be said, though, that Kornet has had outstanding 3-point defense this year. With him serving as the closest defender, opponents are attempting 32.4 percent of their 3-pointers, which is 3 percent less than predicted, according to NBA statistics. Kornet is ranked sixth out of 35 big players (6-10 or larger) who defend at least three 3-pointers each game.
According to NBA analytics, opponents are shooting 44.9 percent overall when Kornet is the closest defender. That is also 3% less than anticipated. In terms of defensive field goal differential, Kornet is tied for 21st place in the NBA among the 176 players who have played at least 40 games and defend at least nine field goals per game.
What we appreciate most about Kornet is that, despite his limited playing time, he just performs his job and adds comedy when appropriate. When Sam Hauser uses the Kornet Kontest, Kornet becomes just as excited as he does when he dunks in a crucial situation (or maybe makes some unbelievable free throws).
Due to an injury that kept Kornet out of action until the middle of December, two-way center Neemias Queta performed admirably in his place. This made some people wonder if Queta ought to be moved up to the parent roster and given more opportunities. On December 29, Kornet played in his first game back. He was immediately put in the starting lineup and went on to score a season-high 20 points on 9 of 11 shots in a close victory over Toronto.
For more depth, the Celtics added big man Xavier Tillman around the trade deadline. Kornet has recorded DNPs on the evenings when Tilman has been used for his defensive flexibility. In what ways has Kornet addressed those occurrences?
Kornet provided much-needed vigor late in the first quarter as the Celtics destroyed the Warriors, following his absence against Dallas. Kornet contributed 14 points and six rebounds against Phoenix after missing out the game against Denver. Kornet does not allow playing time to determine his level of preparation.
The Celtics’ whole starting lineup for Monday’s trip to Portland was included in the injury report. Al Horford will take a scheduled back-to-back night off on one of the upcoming two evenings. With Porzingis, the Celtics will go carefully all the way to the regular season’s conclusion. All of which will provide Kornet the chance to discreetly contribute to the top basketball team in silence.
Brad Stevens’ X account has a single like that is still associated with a Kornet clip for a reason. Whether intentional or not, Kornet plays the game the way a general manager would like his third star to play, and his efforts have made the Celtics successful.
It remains to be seen how much the Celtics will rely on Kornet come playoff time. Matchups may restrict his time on the court. However, head coach Joe Mazzulla knows that Kornet will be prepared when needed.
