Kristaps Porzingis is on track to potentially return in time for the 2024 NBA Finals.
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Boston (Associated Press) — It remains unclear whether injured Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis will be ready in time for the start of this week's NBA Finals.
but There are signs he could be back on the court soon. During Boston's game against the Dallas Mavericks.
The 7-foot-tall player hasn't played since straining his left calf in Game 4 of Boston's first-round playoff series against Miami on April 29.
But a 4-1 win over the Heat and Cleveland in Game 2, followed by a 4-0 win over Indiana in the Eastern Conference Finals, gave the Latvian plenty of time to recover.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla has refrained from predicting when Porzingis might return, but made it clear the team is stronger with Porzingis in the lineup despite going 9-1 in this season's playoffs without him.
“When KP is at his best he's great for us and we expect that from him and we know he'll give it to us,” Mazzulla said.
Porzingis last spoke publicly on May 4, when he said of the injury, “It's nothing big, it's nothing big,” adding that his recovery will “take some time.”
Since then, his official status has been evolving day by day, as he slowly begins his rehabilitation in hopes of earning a chance to play against the Mavericks, his team from 2019-2022.
Kristaps Porzingis, who played for the Mavericks from 2021-2023, could return to the Celtics for the 2024 NBA Finals.
Porzingis took to social media this week, posting on the X Platform to provide his most important update. “I'll be back in the lineup soon. See you in the finals.”
When the doors opened to the media after practice on Friday, Porzingis was one of the few players remaining on the court, working an extended 3-pointer session with assistant coaches and trainers. He was wearing a compression sleeve on his injured left leg.
And on Saturday He participated in some light five-on-five play with his teammates. It was his most intensive on-court training since his injury.
Mazzulla said Porzingis “did everything the team does” in Saturday's practice and is expected to practice more intensely on Sunday.
Assuming he meets that standard, it would be the most promising sign yet that the Celtics could soon get back the scoring and rim protector Boston traded for longtime mainstay Marcus Smart last offseason.
Porzingis has been a force on both ends of the floor when healthy, averaging 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 57 regular-season games, and 14.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks before his injury in the Miami series.
Porzingis missed seven games earlier this season with what the team called a left calf injury and has also missed time with a variety of other issues this season, including right knee inflammation and a bruised right hamstring, a sprained left ankle and back soreness.
Those ailments caused him to miss a combined 25 games while Boston went 21-4.
Celtics guard Derrick White, who was named to the NBA All-Defensive Third Team along with teammate July Holiday, said Porzingis' defensive presence will be difficult to replicate.
“He does a great job of making things difficult,” White said. “It's always nice to know he's behind you, whether he's blocking or not. He makes you think. It's really good to have him on our side and doing what he's done every day. Once he comes back and gets in the flow, I think it'll be good.”
Holiday said one of the reasons the Celtics have been able to perform well without Porzingis during this time is because they remember what it was like without him during the regular season.
“If you look back at the regular season, we had KP out and Al (Horford) in and vice versa. We've literally been through that before,” Holiday said. “We went through every scenario beforehand, what could happen, what might happen, and it showed.”
Still, Holiday said he hopes he'll be available by the time Thursday's final begins. He doesn't think getting him back into the lineup will be an issue.
“KP is one of our best scorers. He's one of our best rim protectors,” Holiday said. “Whenever he comes back, we feel like everyone on our team is mature enough to get back in shape and fit right in. We want KP back. We can't wait to have him back and have him on the court.”
