Luke Kornet goes viral for his defensive contests against Cavs

Boston Celtics center Luke Kornet played a season-high 26 minutes on Friday night and put up solid numbers off the bench. He scored four points, brought down five rebounds and finished with three assists. He was plus-7 overall.

But it wasn’t Kornet’s offense that has people talking. It was his unorthodox defense that led him to go viral.

Twice during Friday night’s 132-123 overtime loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD garden, Kornet contested a three-pointer from inside the paint. It was a curious look given that he obviously wasn’t going to block the shots.

Luke Kornet gunning for that DPOY award this year 🏆🚫pic.twitter.com/p5FkwhFj4f

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 29, 2022

As you can see in the video however, Kornet’s approach worked. Both shots were missed.

“I’ve been told it works,” Kornet said after the game, via MassLive. “Came about it pretty organically. I’ve been told it makes a difference. In the amount of times I’ve used it, it seems to make a difference. If the numbers start indicating otherwise, I’ll adjust. But as long as it seems to be effective, especially with certain types of shooters, and things like that.”

Kornet said his approach began about two years ago and so far, the results have been positive. And it does seem to make sense. If the shooter is locked in on the rim and Kornet can get his hands up and create some movement in the field of view, it causes a distraction.

The fact that Kornet stands at 7-foot-2 probably doesn’t hurt, either.

“It’s not perfect every time,” Kornet added. “If you can get there early enough and you can’t see the rim, it’s better. We’re visually-dependent people. If you can do it right, it can have some effect.”

So long as Kornet continues to find success with the odd approach, why not empty the well?