Beaten in Orlando on Friday evening, Boston also lost Kristaps Porzingis, left in the third quarter due to left calf pain. Enough to cause concern in the ranks of the Celtics as the Latvian interior has been prone to injuries since the start of his career but also in view of his contribution on the field since the start of the season.
The next day, the person concerned reassured everyone by posting a “ good news » on his social networks after his MRI this weekend. Questioned before the night’s meeting against Atlanta, Joe Mazzulla for its part confirmed that a positive development was quickly expected.
A new point in a week
“I think it’s all about how he feels and how he heals. We’ll look at it again in about a week.”, did he declare.
The Celtics coach also recalled that his squad did not lack options to compensate for the absence of Kristaps Porzingis in upcoming matches, between the possibility of playing smaller, the contribution of the Horford-Kornet pair at position 5 , all mixed with more effort from everyone.
“We created an identity last year by playing “small ball”, with our activity, our pressure on the ball and our individual defense. Whether there is a real position 5 in the racket or not, we must continue to focus on individual defense, and that will come through our activity,” he added. “It’s true, it’ll look different without him, but Al Horford and Luke Kornet did a good job. We have produced good defensive things with them for several years. It might be a little different, and everyone will have to be a little better.”
Let’s also remember that Jrue Holiday is also in the infirmary, which did not prevent the Celtics from dominating the Hawks last night.
| 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 | 15 | 30 | 54.7 | 32.4 | 80.0 | 1.5 | 5.2 | 6.7 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 18.9 |
| Total | 417 | 31 | 45.5 | 35.8 | 82.6 | 1.7 | 6.2 | 7.9 | 1.8 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 19.6 | |
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.
