Rick Carlisle Responds to Same Old Tired 'Inside the NBA' Criticism of Kristaps Porzingis

Luka Doncic returned from injury on Thursday, putting up a triple-double in a Mavericks win over the San Antonio Spurs. Kristaps Porzingis pitched in with 13 points on 4-of-15 shooting. He was 3-of-8 from behind the arc. Unsurprisingly, this gave the Inside the NBA crew another chance to criticize his usage with antiquated arguments about tall guys belonging near the basket.
When you hear this, you understand why Kevin Durant lied about his height all those years. Because it worked. Despite the fact that he's 7-feet tall in sneakers, guys like Shaq and Charles Barkley accept his outside game and talk about him like he's the third Curry brother. Meanwhile, Durant shot just .002% better than Porzingis from deep through the last four seasons, with Porzingis attempting .7 more 3-pointers a game.
Luckily, Mavericks' coach Rick Carlisle understands how Porzingis is supposed to be used in the modern, more skilled NBA. Let him break it down.
#MFFL head coach Rick Carlisle sharply addresses critics (Charles Barkley) of Kristaps Porzingis not posting up and how the NBA has changed and people appreciating Porzingis for who he is...#NBA #NBATwitter (NSFW) pic.twitter.com/DSQzf2qBOK
— Kevin Gray Jr. (@CTSportsRadio) December 27, 2019
a righteous, all-time coaching rant from Rick Carlisle reacting to the TNT broadcast's criticism of Porzingis includes him calling KP's offense "pretty fucking cool to me" pic.twitter.com/cYLE8IXO75
— Tim Cato (@tim_cato) December 27, 2019
Video confirms that Porzingis' offense is pretty f-ing cool.
Watching a 7'3" guy play like a 6'3" guy is a lot more fun than watching a 240-pound guy try to play like a 300-pound guy.