4:56pm: Porzingis has been listed as questionable to play in Game 3, Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe tweets.
1:43pm: In his second game back from a right calf strain that sidelined him for approximately five weeks, Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis suffered a new injury, the team announced on Tuesday in a press release.
According to the Celtics, Porzingis has suffered a “torn medial retinaculum allowing dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon in his left leg.” The injury, which the team describes as “rare” and unrelated to the calf strain, occurred with 3:27 left in the third quarter on Sunday as Porzingis jockeyed for rebounding position on a free-throw attempt (video link).
The Celtics went on to say in their statement that – following consultation with multiple specialists – Porzingis’ availability for upcoming NBA Finals games will be determined on a day-to-day basis. Speaking today to reporters, head coach Joe Mazzulla addressed his center’s status, as Brian Robb of MassLive.com relays.
“He’s doing anything and everything he can to be ready for the game tomorrow,” Mazzulla said. “It’s a serious injury and at the end of the day, our medical team is not going to put him in any bad situations. We’ve taken the decision to play out of his hands. He’s going to do everything he can to play and we’re going to leave it up to our medical team.”
Mazzulla added that he has “no idea” if the big man will be available on Wednesday (Twitter link via Jared Weiss of The Athletic).
Boston has controlled the NBA Finals through two games at home, but if Porzingis is unable to suit up, it could have a significant impact on the series going forward. In their two wins over the Mavericks, the Celtics have posted a +27.7 net rating in Porzingis’ 44 minutes on the court while playing Dallas exactly even (0.0 net rating) during his 52 minutes on the bench.
Reserve centers Luke Kornet and Xavier Tillman would be candidates to see some playing time off the bench is Porzingis is ruled out for Game 3.
Glass man……again
Crystal Unicorn
This dude is like Chernobyl. Causes an explosion and then breaks down.
He is not called Krisoft Porzinglass for nothing. Hopefully Kornet Plays well.,
“Injury-prone” and “soft” are not necessarily synonyms.
It’s people like you that cause athletes to neglect to report injuries, leading to further damage down the road.
It may seem like I’m making a mountain out of a molehill, but as someone who nearly ruined their hip in high school trying to “tough it out,” this sort of thing drives me crazy
*insert Rudy Gobert money finger gesture*
Exactly the refs injured Porzingis so that Luka would cover his spread…genus
Dude out here inventing body parts to get injured.
Celtics got their built in excuse for when the Mavs make a comeback
Yeah right, like anyone would blame Porz9ngis if Celtics lose. Tatum is already getting tarred and feathered and they’re up 2 games.
Let’s hear how everyone Boston has played is missing guys again.
Dallas doesn’t have Dirk Nowitzki
That was a good one…
He helped them win the first two games, which is all the Celtics needed anyway. No way Mavs take 4 out of the next 5.
he did say he’d die on the court. play on.
The human body is not meant to be so long and skinny. Spurs need to win in the next 7 years before Wemby breaks down.
Phil Jackson did say, KP was too tall ….. means, he’s structurally unsound.