Tag: Porzingis

Celtics offer little on Porzingis after leg injury

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Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis talks with reporters before basketball practice, Tuesday, June 11, 2024, in Dallas, in preparation for Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks. (Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News via AP)

DALLAS— Kristaps Porzingis didn’t do an encore with reporters two days after Boston’s big man answered questions in the immediate aftermath of the announcement of his rare lower left leg injury.

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla didn’t offer much insight, either, which means Thursday’s injury report will be the closest thing to any official word on whether Porzingis’ latest ailment will keep him out of Game 4 of the NBA Finals at Dallas on Friday night.

The Celtics listed Porzingis as questionable for Game 4, just as he was before getting ruled out about two hours before Game 3.

READ: NBA Finals: Porzingis’ status uncertain due to rare leg injury

Boston moved within a victory of an 18th championship without Porzingis, beating Dallas 106-99 on Wednesday for a 3-0 series lead. The Celtics are poised to break a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most NBA titles.

The 7-foot-2 Latvian has a dislocated tendon in his left leg, caused by a tear of the tissue that holds tendons in place. The team has called the injury rare, and Mazzulla labeled it “serious.”

Porzingis played the first two games of the finals, with a crucial role in the Game 1 win, after missing the previous 10 playoff games with a strained right calf.

Mazzulla said the commanding series lead would have no bearing on whether Porzingis plays. The medical staff deemed him unfit to play after putting him through drills before Game 3.

READ: NBA Finals: Porzingis a big problem for Mavericks team that cast him off

“Kristaps has gotten better from yesterday to today,” Mazzulla said Thursday. “He’s fighting like hell to play. But it’s going to be up to us to protect him and to make sure that it’s in the best interest for him as a player and as a person.”

Porzingis played beyond the first round of the playoffs for the first time in his career when he had 11 of his 20 points and two of his three blocks in the first quarter of Boston’s 107-89 victory in Game 1.

The injury happened in the third quarter of Game 2, when Porzingis said he knocked knees with Dallas rookie center Dereck Lively II when they went for a rebound on a free throw.

READ: NBA Finals: Celtics land biggest punches again to move closer to title

Al Horford has started all three games in the finals, including the two when Porzingis played, and Xavier Tillman Sr. had a 3-pointer during a 20-5 Boston run while playing for the first time in the title series with Porzingis out.

“We’ve been playing all season and all playoffs without (Porzingis),” star guard Jaylen Brown said. “Obviously, we’d love to have (Porzingis) out there. We are different when he is. But X stepped in that role, and I thought he was great.”

Porzingis signed a $60 million, two-year extension with the Celtics after they acquired him in a trade with Washington last summer. That deal kicks in next season.

Regardless of whether he plays, Porzingis has a chance to win a championship at the home of the Mavericks, who acquired him in a blockbuster 2019 trade with the New York Knicks, hoping to create a dynamic European pairing with Dallas superstar Luka Doncic.

The Mavs branded that deal a failure by sending Porzingis to Washington before the trade deadline in 2022. The 28-year-old has a long history of injuries, including in New York and Dallas, and could be celebrating in street clothes on his old home court.

“I’ve been through some stuff in my career, and obviously this is a rough patch coming back and having something happen right away again,” Porzingis said Tuesday, when the injury was announced. “It’s very — just a tough moment right now.”

NBA Finals: Celtics’ Porzingis out of Game 3 due to rare tendon injury

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Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis celebrates after scoring against the Dallas Mavericks during Game 2 of the NBA Basketball Finals, Sunday, June 9, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

DALLAS — Kristaps Porzingis did not play for the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night because of a rare tendon injury in his lower left leg suffered in the previous game.

The Celtics announced about two hours before tipoff that Porzingis was out for that game against the Dallas Mavericks, but coach Joe Mazzulla later left open the possibility of the center being ready for Game 4.

“The medical team and the staff decided it wasn’t what was best for him,” Mazzulla said about Game 3. “It’ll just be a day-to-day thing, see how he is tomorrow and the next day. … He didn’t look right. That was it. I was not involved in it. It was out of his hands.”

READ: NBA Finals: Porzingis a big problem for Mavericks team that cast him off

The 28-year-old Porzingis had missed 10 consecutive playoff games because of a right calf strain before returning last week for the start of the NBA Finals, and helped the Celtics take a 2-0 series lead against his former team. He jump-started the Celtics with 11 points and two blocks in the first quarter of their Game 1 win, then had 12 points in the game in which he got hurt.

Porzingis has said he felt something after bumping knees Sunday night with Dallas center Dereck Lively II but kept playing. He left the game in the final minute of the third quarter and played only about 3 1/2 minutes in the fourth.

The 7-foot-2 Latvian has a tear in the tissue that holds tendons in place. The Celtics said it was unrelated to the calf strain he sustained in Game 4 of the first round against Miami on April 29.

Al Horford, who turned 38 last week, started at center against the Mavs, like he has since Game 5 against the Heat. He scored the first five points for the Celtics, on a short jumper and a 3-pointer.

READ: Porzingis returns, Celtics open NBA Finals with big win over Mavericks

After the team announced the injury Tuesday, Porzingis said he was going through constant treatment and doing everything the medical staff told him. He said he would do whatever he could to play, but acknowledged that he “can’t trick them into allowing me to play.”

Mazzulla had said then that the team was taking that decision out of Porzingis’ hands.

“I’ve appreciated just his approach. Throughout the whole playoffs … He’s never missed any meeting, he’s always been out there, done everything he can to play,” Mazzulla said before Game 3. “Sometimes it’s an unfortunate situation. It’s nothing that he can do.”

With Porzingis missing Game 3, he still hasn’t played a game in Dallas since being traded by the Mavericks nearly 2 1/2 years ago.

Porzingis was the fourth overall pick by the New York Knicks in 2015, and was an All-Star before a torn ACL forced him to miss all of 2018-19. They traded him to Dallas in January 2019, a deal involving seven players and two first-round draft picks. Dallas traded Porzingis to Washington on Feb. 10, 2022, and the Wizards sent him to Boston in a three-team trade last summer.

When the Wizards played at Dallas in January 2023, Porzingis was inactive after playing in 12 of their previous 13 games. He also didn’t play for the Celtics this past January, when they visited American Airlines Center the night after he had 32 points, six rebounds and five blocked shots in Houston.

Porzingis’ status uncertain due to rare leg injury

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Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis talks with reporters before basketball practice, Tuesday, June 11, 2024, in Dallas, in preparation for Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks. (Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News via AP)

DALLAS — Kristaps Porzingis hasn’t played a game in Dallas since the Mavericks traded him nearly 2 1/2 years ago, and now it is uncertain if he will play there in Game 3 of the NBA Finals for the Boston Celtics.

Porzingis has a rare tendon injury in his lower left leg, which occurred in the third quarter of Boston’s 105-98 victory for a 2-0 series lead. The team said Tuesday that he was day-to-day, and Porzingis said he will do everything he can to play Wednesday night.

Asked if it was a pain-tolerance issue or if he could do more damage, Porzingis said he didn’t know the specifics.

READ: NBA Finals: Porzingis a big problem for Mavericks team that cast him off

“That’s something I’ll leave in the medical staff’s hands to determine whether I can go or not,” he said. “Nothing is going to stop me unless I’m told I’m not to, or not allowed to play. That’s the only reason I would not be out there.”

The 7-foot-2 Latvian center has a tear in tissue that holds tendons in place. The Celtics said it was unrelated to the right calf strain that sidelined him for 10 consecutive playoff games before he returned last Thursday for the start of the NBA Finals.

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla described it as a “serious injury” and said that the team wouldn’t put Porzingis in any bad situations.

“We’ve taken the decision to play out of his hands because the importance of him,” Mazzulla said. “He’s going to do everything he can to play. We’re going to leave it up to our medical team. That’s really it.”

Porzingis was wearing slides instead of sneakers when he spoke with reporters before practice. He walked with a slight limp and had a black sleeve covering his lower left leg on the off day.

READ: NBA Finals: Porzingis returns, Celtics open with big win over Mavericks

Without elaborating, he said he was having treatment all day and doing whatever the medical staff told him. He wasn’t on the court for the open portion of practice.

“I can’t trick them into allowing me to play,” he said.

Porzingis said he felt something after bumping knees Sunday night with Dallas center Dereck Lively II but kept playing. He left the game in the final minute of the third quarter and played only about 3 1/2 minutes in the fourth.

After the game, Porzingis downplayed any injury concern, saying he was optimistic and would “die out there if we need.”

On Tuesday, he said, “I’m living by those words. … I mean I hope not, but if it comes to that to win, I guess.”

In his return during Game 1, his first career game beyond the first round, Porzingis jump-started the Celtics with 11 points and two blocks in the first quarter of the 107-89 win while finishing with 20 points, three blocks and six rebounds. He scored 12 points in 23 minutes of Game 2.

“We’re just so much of a better team when we have him. 7-4 unicorn, right? He’s as talented as they come,” Celtics forward Jayson Tatum said. “Yes, we’ve had success and found ways to win without him. Obviously, we’re better when he’s on the team, when he’s out there playing with us.”

The 28-year-old Porzingis was the fourth overall pick by the New York Knicks in 2015, and was an All-Star before a torn ACL forced him to miss all of 2018-19. They traded him to Dallas in January 2019, a deal involving seven players and two first-round draft picks.

Dallas traded Porzingis to Washington on Feb. 10, 2022, and the Wizards sent him to Boston in a three-team trade last summer.

When the Wizards played at Dallas in January 2023, Porzingis was inactive after playing in 12 of their previous 13 games. He also didn’t play for the Celtics this past January, when they visited American Airlines Center the night after he had 32 points, six rebounds and five blocked shots in Houston.

“The first time I came back, I was not playing that game, I was with Washington, and I had a warm welcome here. They even did a tribute video, which was very unexpected for me, but that was very nice,” Porzingis said. “I think the organization, the people on the inside appreciated my time here, and that was very nice. … No bad feeling about this place. I love this city, love the fans, and it just didn’t work out.”

Porzingis a big problem for Mavericks team that cast him off

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Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (8) celebrates a 3-pointer, near Dallas Mavericks center Daniel Gafford (21) during the first half of Game 1 of basketball’s NBA Finals on Thursday, June 6, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

BOSTON — The Mavericks couldn’t figure out how best to utilize big man Kristaps Porzingis during his three seasons in Dallas.

Three years later, the Mavericks now have a big Porzingis problem in the NBA Finals.

Dallas coach Jason Kidd said before the start of the series that he didn’t think Porzingis received nearly enough praise for his ability as a shot blocker and someone who can alter opponents’ shots.

The 7-footer did both in his rousing return to the court in Boston’s 107-89 Game 1 victory, while also providing a scoring punch — 20 points in 21 minutes of action — that jumpstarted the blowout.

It was a full display of his skillset by Boston that was never fully used during Porzingis’ time in Dallas.

READ: NBA FinalPorzingis, Celtics open NBA Finals with big win over Mavericks

“He plays his role,” Kidd said. “I think that’s one of the things that’s underrated about KP. When you ask him to do something, he does it. He doesn’t complain about his role. He goes out there and tries to help his team win.”

What’s more, he did it in his first game back after missing more than a month of action because of a strained right calf muscle.

“Even if I have time off, I can jump right back in and I feel the same way,” Porzingis said. “I know how to do this. That’s it, just having that confidence, going out there whatever, first round or Finals, just going out there with full confidence and giving what I have to the team.”

Kidd got to work with Porzingis for only 34 games during the 2021-22 season before he was dealt at the trade deadline to the Wizards. It was an acknowledgement by the Mavs that his use in a system in which he was asked to split time between posting up and shooting 3-pointers didn’t mesh with star Luka Doncic.

“We’re judged if it works or doesn’t work. That’s just part of the business,” Kidd said.

There’s also the risk that trading away a player of Porzingis’ caliber could eventually come back to bite.

READ: Porzingis plans to be ready for Game 1 of NBA Finals vs Mavericks

In Game 1 it did, with Porzingis igniting an early 17-5 run to help Boston take a 17-point first quarter lead.

But it’s what he did on the defensive end throughout the game that made just as much of an impact.

Two of Porzingis’ three blocks were at the rim — one each on Derrick Jones Jr. and Josh Green. He also blocked a pullup jumper by Kyrie Irving.

Dallas’ primary big men, Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively, combined to go 4 for 4 from the field and scored 10 points. But they had no blocks and only eight rebounds.

“He looked pretty healthy to me,” Gafford said of Porzingis. “We have to find a way to match his energy and physicality.”

Porzingis’ presence in the paint also kept Irving and Doncic quiet. The duo, who had devastated opponents this postseason in the pick-and-roll by garnering 78 dunks or layups off their passes, managed only one such play in Game 1.

“That’s what he’s been doing his whole career. He’s a great player. He’s been great for us. The reason why we are here is because of what he’s done,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said of Porzingis. “What he did for us (in Game 1) was big and we need that for the rest of the series.”

If Porzingis keeps this production up, combined with the Celtics’ other weapons, it may be too formidable for Dallas to match.

But the Mavericks are vowing to try.

“We just have to be better. We know that,” Kidd said. “Boston is a really good team, and so we’ve got to be better on Sunday.