NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski has provided an update on when Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis might return.
Porzingis has been out since Game 4 of the first round against the Heat with a right calf soleus strain. That is the same injury that saw Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo miss the entire first-round series against the Pacers.
“When this series returns to Indiana, I’m told that Kristaps Porzingis could return as soon as Game 4 on Monday… There is momentum that he will return in this series,” renowned NBA Insider Wojnarowski said on NBA Countdown Tuesday.
Wojnarowski provided more detail in a story on ESPN.
“Porzingis has been making progress from a soleus strain of his right calf, accelerating his on-court ramp up and increasing his fitness to make his conference finals debut possible once the best-of-seven series returns to Indianapolis, sources said,” Wojnarowski wrote.
Though Woj stressed that the team “won’t rush Porzingis back, and they want to continue to be conservative in his recovery, but sources say he is inching closer to a return.”
The C’s were able to get past Miami and Cleveland without their big man, but both those two teams were missing their best two players for parts of the series.
Porzingis can play both ends of the floor, which is what makes him so valuable to the Celtics.
His ability to stretch the floor and get the opposition’s big men away from the paint is something no one else in the Boston lineup can do.
On offense, Porzingis is also impressive since he shot shot 51.6 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from three-point range.
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