The Boston Celtics have revealed that center Kristaps Porziņģis has suffered a rare injury described as “a torn medial retinaculum allowing dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon in his left leg.”
The announcement came on Tuesday, leaving his availability for the remainder of the NBA Finals to be evaluated on a day-to-day basis. Porziņģis has been officially listed as questionable for Game 3 against the Dallas Mavericks, which is scheduled for Wednesday. The Celtics currently lead the series 2-0.
Despite the injury, Porziņģis remains hopeful about his chances of playing in Game 3. “I’m optimistic,” he told reporters in Dallas. “I will do everything I can to be out there tomorrow. Nothing’s going to stop me unless I’m told I’m not allowed to play. That’s the only reason I would not be out there, but tomorrow we’ll see.”
The injury occurred during the third quarter of Game 2 when Porziņģis collided with Mavericks center Dereck Lively II while boxing out. Following the collision, Porziņģis was noticeably limping on his left leg and struggled particularly on defensive possessions. Despite the discomfort, he continued to play for nearly three more minutes before heading to the locker room, only to return and play an additional three and a half minutes in the fourth quarter.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla emphasized the seriousness of the injury and the careful consideration being given to Porziņģis’ potential participation in Game 3. “He’s doing everything and anything he can to be ready for the game tomorrow,” Mazzulla said.
“It’s a serious injury. At the end of the day, our team and the medical team is not going to put him in any bad situations. We’ve taken the decision to play out of his hands because of the importance of him. He’s going to do everything he can to play, and we’re going to leave it up to our medical team.”
When asked about Porziņģis’ likelihood of playing, Mazzulla admitted uncertainty. “I have no idea,” he said.
Porziņģis’ latest injury follows a previous absence due to a soleus strain in his right calf, which caused him to miss 36 days, including the Eastern Conference semifinals and finals. The Celtics have clarified that the current injury is unrelated to the previous one.
The impact of Porziņģis’ presence on the court has been significant for the Celtics. Over the first two games of the NBA Finals, Boston has outscored Dallas by 25 points in the 44 minutes Porziņģis has played.
Conversely, the team has been evenly matched with Dallas in the 52 minutes he has been on the bench. During the regular season, the Celtics outscored their opponents by 11.2 points per 100 possessions when Porziņģis was on the floor, a margin that slightly increased to 11.8 points per 100 possessions with him off the floor.
If Porziņģis is unable to play, the Celtics will likely rely more heavily on veteran center Al Horford, who started the first two games of the Finals. Additionally, Luke Kornet could see his first minutes off the bench in the series, adding depth to the Celtics’ frontcourt.
