When he’s healthy, Kristaps Porzingis takes the Boston Celtics to another level. However, the one-time all-star is battling to stay on the court this postseason. In the 2024 playoffs, the Celtics have played in 16 games. Porzingis has played in six of those contests. He missed 10 games in a row before returning for Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals.
In Game 2 on Sunday night, Porzingis injured his left leg. According to league reports, it was a torn medial retinaculum injury in his left leg. There’s a strong chance that Porzingis injured his other leg trying to compensate for the injury he had six weeks prior. Now, the 28-year-old is questionable heading into Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
The Celtics’ medical staff will have the final say as to whether Prozingis plays or not
“He is questionable tonight, I think there’s some hope that he’s going to be able to warm up and then see if he can play… He want’s to play badly”@ShamsCharania on Kristaps Porzingis’ leg injury pic.twitter.com/6KqW2Wk5PT
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) June 12, 2024
Boston is in a unique situation this postseason. They have two centers who are capable of being starters. Before Kristaps Porzingis joined the team in 2023-24, Al Horford was their starting center. However, the top players on the team met before the season and Horford volunteered to come off the bench, Kristaps Porzingis played and started in 57 of Boston’s 82 regular season games. Horford also made 33 starts this season in 65 games.
For the 2024 postseason, the Celtics did not change their strategy. Porzingis started at center and Al Horford came off the bench. That stayed true for Boston’s first four postseason games in 2024. When Kristaps Porzingis missed 10 games straight with a calf injury, Horford stepped up and started at center. The 38-year-old was more than capable of handling the starting role for Boston. When Porzingis returned for Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Joe Mazzulla decided to keep Horford as the starter.
🍀 #Celtics big Kristaps Porzingis tore his medial retinaculum allowing for dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon on this play during Game 2 of the #NBAFinals, let’s break this injury down pic.twitter.com/1hsRkkv62A
— MEDspiration (@MEDspirationNFP) June 12, 2024
Porzingis came off the bench for Games 1 and 2 of the 2024 NBA Finals. The same will stay true for the rest of the series. However, the Celtics are unsure if the big man will be ready to go for Game 3. He’s now dealing with an injury in the opposite leg he had a calf injury six weeks ago. Sources have reported this is a pain tolerance issue for Porzingis. There’s also a significant chance he could risk further injury. A championship is on the line and it’s going to be hard to keep Porzingis off the court. We’ll have to wait and see what the Celtics’ plan is.
