Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis had a [+] dominant performance in Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals, but injuries have prevented him from playing a full game since.
Right now, nearly everything is going great for the defending world champions. After bringing back all their key players from last year’s NBA Finals winners, the Boston Celtics have started the season 4-0, kicking things off with blowout victories against the New York Knicks and the Washington Wizards.
However, emphasis should be placed on the word “nearly” as there remains one lingering concern that could have a huge impact going forward. Theoretical starting center Kristaps Porzingis is still recovering from offseason surgery after tearing his medial retinaculum in his left leg during Game 2 of the NBA Finals, an injury that will likely leave him on the shelf until at least December.
The way the Boston Celtics are built, they are more than capable of beating opponents without Porzingis’s help. They proved that in the playoffs and they are currently proving that now at the start of the season.
As long as Banner 18 hangs from the rafters of TD Garden, the Celtics will never regret the initial Porzingis trade. As painful as it was to lose Marcus Smart on an emotional level, the new-look lineup with Porzingis and Jrue Holiday proved itself to be the most dominant team of the Brad Stevens era (so far). They are practically unstoppable when he’s fully healthy.
The Celtics sensed he would be a good a fit which is why, immediately after trading for him, they signed Porzingis to a two-year, $60 million extension last year. The deal made sense from a previous performance standpoint, as he averaged 23.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game with the Wizards. It was, however, a slightly risky move given Porzingis’s injury history.
Why were the Celtics in a hurry to get the deal done? The idea was that if Porzingis ended up being a good fit in Boston, the team wouldn’t have to worry about losing him in the upcoming offseason. Beyond that, it also meant that neither the Celtics nor Porzingis would be involved in distracting contract disputes when they needed to be focusing on their opponents.
Despite concerns that his Wizards performance was a fluke, Porzingis was nearly as effective in Boston as he was in Washington. He averaged 20.1 points and 7.2 rebounds despite having to share the ball with Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Holiday and Derrick White. He also managed to play 57 games in the regular season, a solid showing given his spotty attendance record with the Dallas Mavericks.
That didn’t last. Porzingis ended up missing 12 out of Boston’s 19 playoff games after his dominant NBA Finals debut. His attempt to play through pain in a Game 5 cameo probably didn’t help matters.
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