Kristaps Porzingis of the Boston Celtics responds to the idea of limiting his playing time

December 6, 2023 Sports Gist Basketball, NBA 0

Kristaps Porzingis of the Boston Celtics responds to the idea of limiting his playing time

 

Lessons from Celtics-Knicks: the theoretical greatness of Kristaps Porzingis - CelticsBlog

 

The biggest worry for Kristaps Porzingis before his debut Celtics season was how he would hold up over an 82-game campaign.

The 28-year-old missed five of Boston’s first 20 games. And Porzingis also had an injury scare before the NBA season when he played with Team Latvia in the FIBA World Cup.

While Porzingis hasn’t suffered a serious long-term injury, it’s still cause for concern for the Celtics considering how much the veteran big man raises Boston’s ceiling. That said, Porzingis doesn’t plan on being limited through the regular season.

“I’m not a big fan of the minutes restriction,” Porzingis told reporters Wednesday, per MassLive’s Souichi Terada. “I always, when I’m back, I want to be back and play full minutes. But we’ll see. Of course, they have a plan and we’ll see what kind of feedback I get after today and go from there.”

Heading into Friday’s matchup against the New York Knicks, Porzingis missed four games due to a left calf strain. It’s only natural for a player to want a full run of minutes, but it will be up to Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla and his staff to determine how to manage Porzingis throughout the season.

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Kristaps Porzingis Believes He Will Return to Celtics’ Lineup Friday

 

Kristaps Porzingis Believes He Will Return to Celtics' Lineup Friday - Sports Illustrated Boston Celtics News, Analysis and More

 

After a four-game absence, Kristaps Porzingis expects to return Friday night when the Celtics host the Knicks.

Before missing out on a trip to Las Vegas, getting eliminated from the NBA’s In-Season Tournament by the Indiana Pacers on Monday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported there was optimism that Kristaps Porzingis could make his return later this week for the Boston Celtics.

Boston was unable to come away with the victory, and the New York Knicks fell to the Milwaukee Bucks on the other side of the East bracket on Tuesday night, so the Celtics will host the Knicks on Friday.

Losing in the In-season Tournament gives the Celtics’ center an extra day of rest and on-court prep to ramp up for his return from his left calf strain.

The evening prior to scrimmaging, Porzingis began answering questions from fans on his Instagram story. When asked when he’d return from his now four-game absence, he answered, “I will be lined up for the next game.”

After Wednesday’s practice, the 28-year-old doubled down on what he said on his Instagram story the night before.

“Calf is good,” Porzingis said. “Got a good session in, up and down, went through the full practice, and feeling good.”

“I believe so,” Porzingis said after being asked if he were ready to play. “I haven’t talked to the medical staff yet, but I think after what I did today, should be good to go.”

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