ATLANTA ― It was a good weekend in Charlotte for Luke Kornet as the Celtics backup big man flourished offensively and provided a scoring option in the paint.
Kornet has thrived in his increased role with Al Horford playing limited minutes early and Kristaps Porzingis out until likely December following ankle surgery. Kornet made all eight of his field goal attempts in the two-game sweep of the Hornets and added 8 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.
“I really think that now, having been a couple years playing the way I have, I just got a little more comfortable with [my role],” Kornet said. “The focus for me this year has been being consistent, taking care of my body, and putting myself in a good position every single day. As long as I’m taking care of those things, and then after games just looking back and seeing what decisions I made and just continuing on that process, putting myself in a good position and playing the game at hand.”
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Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla has blended Kornet along with Neemias Queta to give the club an effective center combo.
“Yeah, he’s great,” Mazzulla said of Kornet. “I mean, he does a lot of stuff that goes unnoticed. One of the things that they don’t chart is block outs so someone else gets the rebound, so he does a great job keeping his guy off the glass so someone else can get it. I just thought his physicality versus their switching allowed us to get some easy looks and just a great presence around the rim.”
Kornet’s role and importance to the team has increased dramatically over the past few years. He has teamed with Queta and Xavier Tillman for a two-center lineup.
“It’s going to be important for us to do that throughout the course of the year,” Kornet said. “You’ve got to get contributions from everybody, and I feel like double-big with Xavier and Jordan [Walsh] playing more this weekend, just figuring it out and finding what works with different lineups and how to be successful. It’s just kind of where our minds are at. It’s an important thing throughout the 82 games — you’re not going to have everybody every night. No matter what the adjustment is, just being able to find a way to win the game is just the way it has to be to be a successful team.”
Hornets coach Charles Lee, a former Celtics assistant, threw all types of defense at Jayson Tatum over the past two games and he responded with some strong playmaking. Tatum is struggling from the 3-point line — 10 for his past 44 — but he was able to swing the ball and make the right play when Lee sent double teams.
“That’s the problem [with stats],” Mazzulla said. “They doubled him and he made the right play every time. They need to put potential assists and screen assists on [the NBA stat sheet]. I thought he controlled and made the right play every single time. I thought he played a great game. He shot 17 free throws.”
Tatum was 6 for 6 from the 2-point area and added seven rebounds and three assists.
“Just be patient and read the defense,” Mazzulla said. “Sometimes they hit, sometimes they didn’t. There was even a couple of possessions where he caught it without space, and he dribbled out to create space so that the hit was bigger so that he could see the two-on-one read. I just thought he had tremendous poise throughout the game and an understanding of how the defense was guarding him and he showed growth in that so it was good.”
The Celtics already have scratched Jaylen Brown from Monday’s game at the Hawks. Brown told the Globe he was going to undergo a second imaging exam on his sore left hip flexor; he has dealt with the nagging injury since training camp.
Brown said his first MRI revealed a mild strain and some fluid in the area, and the injury continues to impact his explosion and offensive arsenal. It perhaps has affected his 3-point shooting. He is 4 for 30 from the 3-point line in his past three games after beginning the season 8 for 15.
