BOSTON — Whether injured Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis will be ready in time for the start of the NBA Finals this week has yet to be determined.
But signs point to him being able to return to the floor sooner rather than later during Boston’s game against the Dallas Mavericks.
The 7-footer hasn’t appeared in a game since straining his left calf in Game 4 of Boston’s first-round playoff series against Miami on April 29.
But 4-1 wins over the Heat and Cleveland in the second round, followed by a 4-0 drubbing of Indiana in the Eastern Conference finals, gave the Latvian extended recovery time.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla declined to speculate on when he expects Porzingis to be available. But he was clear that his team is better with Porzingis in the lineup, despite posting a 9-1 record without him this postseason.
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“When KP is at his best, he’s been great for us and we expect that from him and we know he’s going to give it to us,” Mazzulla said.
Porzingis last spoke publicly on May 4, saying of the injury, “It’s something, it’s nothing” and adding that it would take “a little time” to recover.
His official status has since been day-to-day as he slowly began rehabbing for a chance to face the Mavericks team he played for in 2019-22.
Porzingis took to social media this week to provide his most important update, post on the X platform, “I will be back in the lineup very soon. See you in the final.”
Two days later, when the doors opened to the media Friday after a practice, Porzingis was one of the few players still on the court, going through extensive 3-point shooting drills with assistant coaches and trainers. He was wearing a compression sleeve on his injured left leg.
Then on Saturday he participated in a light 5-on-5 game with his teammates – his most extensive on-court practice since suffering the injury.
Mazzulla said Porzingis “did everything the team did” during Saturday’s practice and was expected to go through a more intense session Sunday.
Assuming he clears that benchmark, it would mark the most promising sign yet that the Celtics could soon get back the scorer and rim protector Boston traded for long-term Marcus Smart this past offseason.
When healthy, Porzingis has delivered on both ends of the floor, averaging 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks during the regular season while appearing in 57 games. Before his injury in the Miami series, he was averaging 14.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks.
Porzingis missed seven games earlier this season with what the team called left calf injuries. He’s also missed time with a number of other issues this season, from inflammation and bruising in his right knee, right hamstring issues, a sprained left ankle and back pain.
Those ailments spanned a 25-game losing streak in which Boston went 21-4.
Celtics guard Derrick White, who was voted to the NBA All-Defensive third team along with teammate Jrue Holiday, said Porzingis’ presence on the defensive end is difficult to replicate.
“He does a great job of making things difficult,” White said. “It’s always nice to know he’s back there, whether he’s blocking or not. It makes them think about it. It was really great to have him by our side, doing the things he did day in and day out. Once he’s back and into the flow, I think it’s going to be nice.”
Holiday said one of the reasons the Celtics were able to excel without Porzingis during that stretch is because they remember what it was like to go through those stretches during the regular season without him.
“I’m going back to the regular season where sometimes KP was out and Al (Horford) was in and vice versa. We’ve literally been through it before,” Holiday said. “We went through all the scenarios beforehand of what could happen or what will happen or whatever. And it kind of looks.”
That said, Holiday said he’d prefer to be available when the final comes Thursday. He doesn’t think getting him back into the lineup will be a problem.
“KP is one of the best scorers. He’s one of our best rim protectors,” Holiday said. “And I feel like we’re all mature enough to get back in the groove or have him fit right in whenever he comes back. And we want KP back. We can’t wait for him to come back and be a part of that on the floor.”