BOSTON — The Celtics are set to be back at full strength for the first time in over a month for Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night. Kristaps Porzingis is planning to make his return after missing 11 straight games with a calf injury, a stretch in which Boston went 11-1 without him as a team. While Porzingis’ teammates are eager for his return to the floor, the 7-foot-2 center acknowledged he isn’t quite sure what it will feel like when he’s back out there.
“I don’t know (if I’m 100 percent),” Porzingis said. “We’ll see. Have a couple more days. Done a lot of work up until this point. Done everything needed to get back into playing shape. We’ll see.”
Before we go further, it’s important to make it clear that the Celtics will be happy to have Porzingis back even if he’s not quite 100 percent. Compared to Luke Kornet or Xavier Tillman, his offensive skillset will be crucial to stretching out the Mavericks defense all series long and helping open the floor for others. Joe Mazzulla brushed aside the thought that re-integrating him back on the court could be a tall task after a long layoff at practice on Tuesday…
“He’s been playing basketball for like 30 years,” Mazzulla said. “He’s been playing intense situations his whole life, so I don’t think that will be much of an issue. I think everything was just dependent upon — obviously you can’t simulate the speed and the intensity of the game, which I think just comes with a little bit of reps.
“KP is a great player. I think just because you’ve been out for a month doesn’t mean you have to like relearn how to play basketball. He’s been doing a lot of great things for us this season on both ends of the floor with physicality, with intensity. And I expect him to pick up right where he left off, but obviously there will be a little bit of rust. Just not concerned because of the work that he’s put in and what he’s done in his career and what he’s done in this season for us.”
Realistically, there’s more dynamics at play here for Mazzulla and the Celtics though entering Game 1. Boston doesn’t have the margin for error in the NBA Finals to give Porzingis a long leash to shake off rust in an intense Finals matchup. Porzingis is committed to trying to help but it’s entirely possible he won’t be where he wants to be physically on the court when he’s thrown into the fire Thursday night, both from a conditioning and mobility standpoint.
“I think the medical staff would not put me out there if they wouldn’t be confident that I’d be good,” Porzingis said. “I’ve done the things necessary to check the boxes, and that’s it. Of course, it’s hard to imitate the same intensity in practice. That intensity is going to be a completely different level, but I have to be confident it will be alright.”
The frankness by Porzingis about his situation is a welcome development that should help temper expectations. However, it should also put Mazzulla on alert to be ready to adapt quickly in Game 1 and beyond. Creative backup solutions must be ready to go if Porzingis looks like a shell of himself on the floor as he attempts to guard the likes of Luka Doncic or Kyrie Irving in the pick-and-roll.
Mazzulla needs to be ready to pull the plug rather quickly on the veteran if Porzingis isn’t ready for this spot despite his intensive rehab efforts. The fact that he may be on a minutes limit also opens the door to a few lineup questions as well. Would Mazzulla consider bringing him off the bench to best utilitize him for the minutes he has available? Or would that be a drastic change for a player who has come off the bench just once in his career in over nearly 500 games?
If Porzingis still starts for that reason, a willingness to stick with Al Horford at center during crunch time (if he looks like the better option) must take precedence. Mazzulla can’t worry about hurt feelings on this stage even as Porzingis has mentally been tough on himself during his rehab.
“Obviously, as I said, it’s not ideal that I haven’t had any real minutes, but I roll with the punches and it is what it is,” Porzingis said. “I just try to be the best I can be with the given circumstances.”
It’s very possible that Porzingis will be able to do enough out there to cast these concerns aside. A two-day rest between nearly all games in the entire series all bodes well for his recovery. Yet, the tone struck by Porzingis ahead of Game 1 definitely was one where expectations may need to be tempered for his play.
Mazzulla and the Celtics training staff need to be watching with a critical eye on Thursday night with that in mind to help ensure the return of Porzingis doesn’t hurt the team more than it helps.
Be the first to comment