Five biggest losers of the 2020 bubble’s NBA playoffs

4. Kristaps Porzingis

Kristaps Porzingis seemed right for the challenge in his playoff debut. Through the first three games of the Dallas Mavericks’ first-round matchup against the LA Clippers, he shot above 50 percent from both the field and 3-point line with 23.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.

It was a good first showing against a legitimate opponent, but injuries have consistently come for KP in his short NBA career. They did once again at the worst possible time, keeping him out of Games 4-6 as LA eliminated the Mavericks in six games.

To worsen the perception of a player many have already labeled injury-prone, it was recently revealed Porzingis had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee suffered in Game 1.

Porzingis size and shooting ability are large reasons Dallas had the league’s top offense this past season and one of the most prolific ever. What good does that do if he can’t provide those skills at the times a $158 million player is expected to?

He tore his ACL in one knee and a meniscus in the other. He hasn’t played in 70-plus games since his rookie season. Playing alongside a creator like Luka Doncic was supposed to keep Porzingis fresher. It didn’t work.

While Porzingis was sidelined, a hobbled Doncic emptied his entire bag trying to keep the Mavericks alive, pumping in over 34 points a game without his running mate. As they hope to trend upwards in the Western Conference, Dallas has to wonder if there’s more of that in store for them in the coming years.