Kristaps Porzingis suffered a series of physical problems last season, between his calf injury and his tear in the medial retinaculum of his left leg which required an operation in June. Since the resumption, his absence has not gone unnoticed but almost, as the Celtics have had a string of victories at the start of the season.
Boston, however, has had a little more difficulty in the last ten days, notably with two losses against Golden State and Atlanta, a close victory in overtime against Brooklyn, and another very difficult match last night against Toronto, last in class in the East, which pushed the reigning champion to its limits until the last second of overtime (126-123).
The subject of the return of Kristaps Porzingis has therefore come back to the table, especially as the player appears more and more comfortable throughout his appearances during pre-match warm-ups.
“He’s getting close.”, confirmed Joe Mazzulla about KP's upcoming return. “He was able to do some drills on the field, some game reading situations, 5 on 1 against the coaches, so he’s getting closer.”
Jrue Holiday is looking forward to it
Also absent against the Raptors, Jrue Holiday recalled the importance of the Latvian on both ends of the court for the Celtics. In addition to giving the Horford-Kornet tandem a little breathing space, his return should make things easier for the rest of the team.
“I can’t wait for him to come back.”slipped the leader. “Even doing little drills with him, you can see that he makes the game so much easier with his size and his ability to protect the rim. And then obviously, offensively, he makes life so much easier for everyone, by creating spaces on the drive lines or his 3-point shots, or the fact that we can't switch on him, or his way of take advantage of it when it happens. So I’m really looking forward to him coming back.”
His contribution would have been particularly valuable on a profile like Jakob Poeltl this night, since the Austrian offered himself a career record of 35 points almost without forcing. While waiting for his return, Joe Mazzulla involves him from the bench, in a luxury assistant role.
“I think it's important, especially for a guy who's not playing, to be as involved as he is. It's easier, that way when it starts to come back, we can restart it directly. Because he's been there all this time”added the Celtics coach.
| Kristaps Porzingis | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2015-16 | NYK | 72 | 28 | 42.1 | 33.3 | 83.8 | 1.8 | 5.5 | 7.3 | 1.3 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 14.3 |
| 2016-17 | NYK | 66 | 33 | 45.0 | 35.7 | 78.6 | 1.7 | 5.5 | 7.2 | 1.5 | 3.7 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 18.1 |
| 2017-18 | NYK | 48 | 32 | 43.9 | 39.5 | 79.3 | 1.3 | 5.3 | 6.6 | 1.2 | 2.9 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 22.7 |
| 2019-20 | DAL | 57 | 32 | 42.7 | 35.2 | 79.9 | 1.8 | 7.7 | 9.5 | 1.8 | 3.3 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 20.4 |
| 2020-21 | DAL | 43 | 31 | 47.6 | 37.6 | 85.5 | 1.9 | 7.0 | 8.9 | 1.6 | 2.7 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 20.1 |
| 2021-22 * | All Teams | 51 | 29 | 45.9 | 31.0 | 86.7 | 2.0 | 6.1 | 8.1 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 20.2 |
| 2021-22 * | DAL | 34 | 30 | 45.1 | 28.3 | 86.5 | 1.9 | 5.8 | 7.7 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 19.2 |
| 2021-22 * | W.A.S. | 17 | 28 | 47.5 | 36.7 | 87.1 | 2.2 | 6.6 | 8.8 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 22.1 |
| 2022-23 | W.A.S. | 65 | 33 | 49.8 | 38.5 | 85.1 | 1.8 | 6.7 | 8.4 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 1.5 | 23.2 |
| 2023-24 | BOS | 57 | 30 | 51.6 | 37.5 | 85.8 | 1.7 | 5.5 | 7.2 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 20.1 |
| Total | 459 | 31 | 45.9 | 36.1 | 83.1 | 1.7 | 6.1 | 7.9 | 1.8 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 19.7 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
