Kristaps Porzingis injury update: Celtics big man expected to return for Game 1 of NBA Finals, per report

Getty Images

The Boston Celtics are expected to get ailing big man Kristaps Porzingis back for Thursday’s Game 1 of the NBA Finals, according to Shams Charania. Porzingis, who has missed Boston’s last 10 games due to a calf strain (and hasn’t played since April 29), has completed multiple scrimmages in recent days. He had initially been expected to return during the Eastern Conference finals, but with Boston sweeping the Indiana Pacers, Porzingis had extra time to recover in the long break before the Finals against the Dallas Mavericks.

Now Porzingis is set to make it back in time for a Finals series that will hold special significance for him. The Celtics will be facing his former team in a series that holds revenge elements on both sides. While Porzingis will be facing Dallas, former Celtics star Kyrie Irving will be facing the Mavericks after leaving as a free agent in 2019 and infamously stomping on Lucky the Leprechaun, the team’s logo, after beating the Celtics in a 2021 series as a member of the Brooklyn Nets.

Boston survived the absence of Porzingis in the first three rounds, but all three teams the Celtics faced in the Eastern Conference were dealing with injuries of their own. The Miami Heat didn’t have Jimmy Butler. The Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t have Jarrett Allen, and lost Donovan Mitchell midway through the series. The Indiana Pacers lost Tyrese Haliburton midway through the Eastern Conference finals.

…


Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/kristaps-porzingis-injury-update-celtics-big-man-expected-to-return-for-game-1-of-nba-finals-per-report/

Author : Sam Quinn

Publish date : 2024-06-04 15:00:33

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.