"He had the chops"- Josh Hart endorses Luke Kornet's forgotten 3-point shooting after Kristaps Porzingis' injury

Injuries continue to plague Kristaps Porzingis' career as the Latvian center is questionable for Game 3 of the NBA Finals with a lower left leg injury. With many experts claiming Porzingis could miss at least a game, Boston Celtics fans are worried about who will pick up the slack if the center has to sit out.

As per a Boston fan on X/Twitter, Luke Kornet seems like a probable answer. This was a thought that New York Yankees forward Josh Hart agreed with, as he reposted a compilation of Kornet's 3-pointers made by the fan. Hart wrote:

“Crazy he doesn’t shoot anymore. He had the chop”

Luke Kornet is a career 32.3% shooter from beyond the arc. He shot 100% this regular season but it could be misleading as he attempted just one 3-pointer and made it. However, it is surprising that the center doesn’t shoot that many 3s anymore.

While with the Knicks, Kornet converted 98 of his 272 attempts from beyond the arc. That is a respectable 36.0%. For reference to the current context, Kristaps Porzingis averages 36.1% in his career from the 3-point arc.

While it might be a bit far-fetched to actually expect Luke Kornet to make up for Porzingis’ probable absence, the Celtics could use Kornet for open shots. Boston needs to ensure it doesn’t let its foot off the pedal as the 2024 NBA Finals move to the Dallas Mavericks’ American Airlines Center.

What happened to Kristaps Porzingis?

Kristaps Porzingis suffered a lower left leg injury in Game 2 on Sunday. As per the Celtics’ announcement, the Lativian center has "a torn medial retinaculum allowing dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon in his left leg." The release also termed the injury as rare and placed Porzingis as day-to-day for rest of the series.

The timing of the injury was especially unfortunate as he had only returned to action after missing 10 straight games. Porzingis sustained a right calf strain in Game 1 of the Boston Celtics’ first-round series against the Miami Heat. He was playing on a minutes restriction in the 2024 NBA Finals and was coming off of the bench.

In the first two games of the finals, Porzingis averaged 16.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks. He shot 60.0% from the floor, including 28.6% from beyond the arc and 100% from the free-throw line.

Also read: Boston Celtics vs Dallas Mavericks Prediction and Preview - June 12 | Game 3, 2024 NBA Finals