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DALLAS — In the moments after Boston’s win in Game 2 of the 2024 NBA Finals, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said he had no concern about the leg injury that center Kristaps Porziņģis appeared to suffer in the second half of the 105-98 victory.
“No, he’s good,” Mazzulla said.
Neither, for that matter, did Porziņģis, who played just three minutes and 26 seconds in the fourth quarter of Game 2 before checking out for good with 4:40 to go.
“Feeling good,” he said. “Yeah, I don’t think it’s anything serious.”
So … about that:
All it took was a late-breaking press release, dropped just as the Celtics opened their media availability at American Airlines Center on Tuesday, to send sports fans and reporters alike searching for a med-school speed run that might allow them to become experts in the ins and outs of the medial retinaculum. (First step in the process? Learning there’s more than one of them.)
The Celtics’ press-release claim that the “torn medial retinaculum allowing dislocation of the posterior tibalis tendon in [Porziņģis’] left leg” is a “rare injury” is backed up by the fact that athletic trainer and injury expert Jeff Stotts of In Street Clothes says he has “only one real [comparison]” for the tear in his extensive database.
“If the retrinaculum is torn, the tendon can shift out of place (dislocate), causing pain and instability of the ankle and foot,” Stotts wrote Tuesday. “… It will be interesting to see how this is managed, but given [Porzingis’] injury history, there is reason for concern.”
How significant a concern remains unclear, though. Asked whether it’s more of a pain tolerance issue or if playing on the leg would run the risk of a worse, more serious injury, Porziņģis said, “Good question. I don’t know.”
Kristaps Porziņģis is questionable for Game 3. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
For now, at least, the Celtics haven’t ruled their 7-foot-2 walking mismatch — the floor-spacing center who unlocks their brutalizing five-out offense, the shot-swatting interior intimidator who turns the paint into a no-fly zone — out for Game…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/2024-nba-finals-how-kristaps-porzingis-injury-impacts-series-for-celtics-and-mavericks-232313691.html
Author : Yahoo Sports
Publish date : 2024-06-11 23:23:13
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