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Celtics Mailbag: Porzingis nearing return, scouting the Cavs and more originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
In the midst of a rare break early in the 2024-25 regular season — just one game in five nights — the Boston Celtics delivered a surprise jolt of off-day news with word that Kristaps Porzingis has progressed to the next phase of his injury rehab.
Porzingis worked out with the Maine Celtics at the Auerbach Center on Monday, and the team said he would “continue to ramp up his workload” after being recalled from that G-League assignment immediately after. The big question, and one that quickly became the most popular when we ripped open this week’s Celtics Mailbag, was when Porzingis might make his season debut.
All indications are that Porzingis has been tracking on an optimistic timeline. He’s engaged in pregame workouts that now look even more rigorous than some of the sessions before his playoff return. Porzingis has been traveling with the team, something that players with longer timelines tend to avoid.
Then there’s this: We asked Porzingis in late September whether the team’s success, coupled with the obvious goal of winning another title, might make it easier for him to embrace a slower comeback, to exercise extreme caution before his return. He dismissed the notion.
“For me, it’s tough because I want to be back out there as soon as possible, you know? And it’s more like, whenever I get the green light, I’ll be out there,” said Porzingis. “It’s good knowing that you have teammates that have your back, that you can trust that no matter who’s going to be out there on the floor, that are going to give their all.”
Porzingis underwent surgery on June 27 to repair the torn retinaculum and dislocated posterior tibialis tendon. The Celtics suggested a “return to play in 5-6 months,” which put him on target to return some time between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The other question here is whether we’ll get another WWE-style walkout if his season debut coincides with a Celtics home game. When Porzingis made his way from the locker room to the TD Garden floor before Game 1 of the NBA…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/celtics-mailbag-porzingis-nearing-return-142114349.html
Author : NBC Sports Boston
Publish date : 2024-11-19 14:23:00
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