Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis will be available for the team’s matchup with the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday. It could be Porzingis’ first appearance since Feb. 26. He missed the Celtics’ last eight games due to a mystery illness.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said on Saturday that if Porzingis does play, it will probably be on a minutes restriction.
There has been little information regarding Porzingis’ situation over the past few weeks. The team has repeatedly listed him as out due to a non-COVID illness but has not provided any other information. On March 6, Mazzulla said, “He’s sick. He’s coming into the facility every day trying to get shots up, sweat it out. He’s just not feeling well. He is working to get back.”
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Porzingis, who has been on the bench with the team throughout this period, eventually posted an update on social media on March 10, saying that the team hadn’t been able to figure out his illness.
“I have been dealing with some viral illness that we haven’t been able to fully identify yet,” Porzingis wrote. I am recovering and getting better, but I am still working my way back to full strength to help this team. Thanks for your support, and I’m hoping for a healthy return soon.”
This has certainly been a strange situation, but the good news is that Porzingis appears to finally be healthy. This has been a stop-start campaign for the oft-injured big man, who has only appeared in 32 games due in large part to an offseason ankle surgery that kept him on the sideline until Nov. 25. As long as he’s ready for the postseason, though, that’s all that matters.
The Celtics were able to win a title last season despite only having Porzingis for seven playoff games. It’s hard to imagine they would be able to pull off that feat again, especially with how strong the Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder look.
During Porzingis’ absence, the Celtics went 6-2, but those losses were to the Cavaliers and Thunder, both at home. Depending on how the playoffs shake out, they might have to beat both of those teams to complete a repeat. To do that, they’ll need their 7-foot-2 “cheat code” on the floor.
