Celtics' Porziņģis Praises Mavs' Gafford as 'Dangerous' and 'So Eff'in Explosive'

It was a move that flew largely under the radar at the NBA trade deadline, but the Dallas Mavericks' acquisition of Daniel Gafford has paid major dividends.

Gafford has provided a massive boost of energy throughout the Mavericks' playoff run, and Kristaps Porziņģis highlighted him as a "dangerous" weapon as the Boston Celtics prepare to face Dallas in the NBA Finals.

"Gaff is dangerous because he's so eff'in explosive," Porziņģis told The Athletic's David Aldridge. "If you're late, you're in trouble. And that's the thing with him. He can get up like few guys can in the league. And guarding that is dangerous."

Gafford has averaged 9.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game during the playoffs, combining with Dereck Lively II to give the Mavs a bouncy 1-2 punch at center. Lively and Gafford are playing the exact same number of minutes per game (21.8), providing Dallas with a near-constant presence of similarly skilled athleticism in the middle.

"I would just say I've been the same version (of himself) throughout my whole career," Gafford said. "There's times where I've tried to expand, and just show what else I'm capable of. But I just made it easy on myself: setting screens, and just running to the basket and catching lobs."

Having elite lob threats like Gafford and Lively on the floor has been a perfect pairing with Luka Dončić, who might be the best lob thrower in the entire NBA. Dončić is also able to get open mid-range shots against drop pick-and-roll coverage because bigs are often threatened by getting beat over the top by the lob.

The Celtics typically play drop coverage, so Porziņģis will spend the entire Finals navigating the choice between covering Dončić or getting beat by Gafford.