Late in the Boston Celtics’ Game 2 NBA Finals victory against the Dallas Mavericks, star big man Kristaps Porzingis was seen limping after a right leg injury. Ultimately, the Latvian native played just three minutes in the fourth quarter and only recorded a rebound. Porzingis missed most of the playoffs with a right calf injury. This includes the Celtics’ entire series against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers. Because of this, there was cause for concern regarding his early exit. However, Porzingis said everything is “all good” in regard to his injury.
“I feel good,” Porzingis said. “Feeling good. I don’t think it’s anything serious. But we’ll look at it tomorrow and go from there. But all good. I’ll be good.”
Furthermore, Porzingis made it clear he plans on suiting up for Game 3.
“Obviously something happened a little bit,” Porzingis said. “But I have a couple days again. Believe me, we will do everything we can to be back and moving well. … I’ll die out there if we need. Just kept going. Obviously I was a little limited, so smart thing was to get Al (Horford) back in there and close out the game.”
Boston Celtics Star Reveals Status for Game 3
Kristaps Porzingis’ NBA Finals Performance
In his NBA Finals debut, Porzingis is showing the world exactly why the Celtics acquired him last summer. Due to his prior injury, the one-time All-Star has come off the bench for both games so far. However, he has still made his impact. In two NBA Finals games, Porzingis is averaging 16 points, five rebounds, and 2.5 blocks over 21.9 minutes per game. This includes a fantastic performance in Game 1 when he scored 18 points on nine shots in the first half alone. After Game 1, teammate Derrick White called Porzingis “a matchup nightmare.”
“He’s a matchup nightmare,” Derrick White said. “Even when you play good defense, he doesn’t see you. It’s been unreal just watching him all year. Then defensively, he uses his size well, just impacts the games in so many different ways. He changes us and he makes us a better team.”
Based on his performance so far, White seems to be right about Porzingis. Porzingis has helped elevate the Celtics on both sides of the ball but especially so on offense. With him on the court, it lessens the offensive load on Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and transforms their game into something special. Though the Mavericks have a good defense, they have not come up with an answer for Porzingis just yet.
The Last Word on Kristaps Porzingis and the Boston Celtics
Ultimately, the Celtics are a great team even without Porzingis on the court. However, it is evident he is what moves them from great to historic. All season long, Porzingis has played some of the best basketball of his career. And with him on the team, the Celtics earned their best regular season record since 2008. Up 2-0, Boston is just two wins away from their second NBA championship of the millennium. And with Porzingis likely playing in Game 3, the Celtics are in a good spot to take a commanding 3-0 lead as the series heads to Dallas.
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