Boston Celtics star Kristaps Porzingis suffered an injury during his team’s Game 4 win over the Miami Heat on Monday night, but it sounds like he has a good chance to return later in the postseason.
Porzingis has been diagnosed with a right soleus strain, which is a fancy way of saying a calf strain. Shams Charania of The Athletic reported on Wednesday that Porzingis could be sidelined for 1-2 weeks. It is possible the 7-foot-2 center will be out longer depending on how his rehab goes.
“It’s all about the severity of the strain, how bad the strain is,” Charania said. “I’m told this is gonna be treated like a week-to-week injury. It could be 1-2 weeks for Kristaps Porzingis. It could be even longer than that, based on his rehab. Obviously, they need him healthy.”
"Kristaps Porziņģis has a right soleus strain, so this is a calf strain…I'm told this is going to be treated like a week to week injury, could be 1-2 weeks for Kristaps Porziņģis, could be even longer than that based on his rehab."@ShamsCharania on Kristaps Porziņģis' injury… pic.twitter.com/LgPcl1jYxU
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) May 1, 2024
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said on Wednesday that Porzingis will be evaluated in a week.
Joe Mazzulla said on 98.5 that Kristaps Porzingis will be evaluated in one week. That knocks him out of the rest of this series, however long it goes, and at least the beginning of the next one. Game 1 of R2 will either start on Sunday or Tuesday.
— Bobby Manning (@RealBobManning) May 1, 2024
Porzingis’ injury was of the non-contact variety and looked like it could have been a lot worse, so the fact that he could return in the playoffs is a positive development for Boston.
The Eastern Conference Finals begin in roughly three weeks. The Celtics have a 3-1 series lead over the Miami Heat and are hosting Game 5 on Wednesday night. In an ideal world, they would not need Porzingis until the Eastern Conference Finals.
Charania compared Porzingis’ injury to the one Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounpo has been dealing with. That is not the best sign for the Celtics, as Giannis suffered his calf injury on April 10 and still has yet to play in the postseason. If Porzingis ends up having a similar recovery timeline, that would put his status for the Eastern Conference Finals in question, should the Celtics get there.
