Kristaps Porzingis' painful injury gets truthful take from Celtics teammate

06/16/2024 09:46 PM

The injury bug might have been manageable for the Boston Celtics on their road to the NBA Finals. But, it has finally caught up to them in Game 5 against the Dallas Mavericks. It was one of the biggest blowouts in the largest stage in all of basketball and more reinforcements would have helped. Coach Joe Mazzulla had a revolving door of big men to compensate for the absence of Kristaps Porzingis. It was Luke Kornet, Al Horford, and Xavier Tillman who took on the role to fill the missing production.

Obviously, it is very different when the Celtics have Kristaps Porzingis. His lethal and quick clip from outside makes opponents regret playing zone or any other scheme that leaves him open in any spot near the rim. The injury clearly bogged him down which is why Coach Joe Mazzulla chose to not play him despite his availability. There is little insight about whether or not he will play in their Game 5 clash with the Mavericks. Xavier Tillman noted some key takeaways for when he sees his teammate, via Noa Dalzell of SB Nation.

Obviously, it's a rare leg injury. If he’s in excruciating pain & can’t be his best, it might not be worth it. We go to practices and stuff. He’s doing some stuff but you can tell he’s very uncomfortable. Like I said, we don’t want to put him in any type of situation that could really hurt him. It’s been pretty much the same.

Big decisions at the hands of the Celtics

Kristaps Porzingis is suffering a torn medial retinaculum on his leg. There are only a few cases of this documented throughout medical literature and history. So, this also clearly means that the Celtics staff are finding better ways to treat it. Some of them might have even heard it for the first time in their lives. Understandably, this is going to be a long and grueling process of recovery. This is why Joe Mazzulla’s choice to make him available in Game 4 was such a surprise to avid spectators of the NBA Finals.

Prior to going down to have guys like Al Horford and Xavier Tillman fill his minutes, Porzingis was already having issues. He did not play halfway through their series against the Miami Heat up until the first game of the NBA Finals clash with the Mavericks. It was also an issue with the lower part of his body which disallowed him from starting in the latter.

Game 5 was then a wake-up call for the rest of his Celtics teammates. They were demolished with a 122 to 84 scoreline and left to wave the white flag as early as the third quarter. If there truly is a lot of discomfort and pain coursing through Porzingis, no gamble should be made regarding his health despite the outcome of the latest game. Schemes and rotations are going to be left in shambles if the Celtics choose to play him while he struggles. More importantly, a lot of years in his career could be cut due to bad decisions. There are a lot of reasons to love and trust the Celtics. They have made the right calls before and are capable of making one in the coming days for Porzingis.

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