Kristaps Porzingis, center, of the Boston Celtics, is seated on the bench between Al Horford, left, and Payton Pritchard on Saturday, January 27, 2024, in Boston, during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Clippers. (Photo by Michael Dwyer/AP)AP
Kristaps Porzingis was on the bench on Thursday night as the Celtics triumphed in their fourth straight game. The big man, who has been out again due to what the team has described as a hamstring ailment, was working out hard on the court before to the game.
Before the victory, Joe Mazzulla stated, “He’s progressing well.” He was merely working out with the guys on the court earlier today. I’m not sure when it was established, but he’s improving steadily.
It’s uncertain how injured Porzingis is. Prior to being out last week against the Nuggets, he played significant minutes and showed no signs of discomfort from his injury. On the other hand, the big man’s scheduled rest in the middle of Boston’s playoff run could not have come at a better time.
To put it simply, the Celtics’ biggest challenge heading into the playoffs is the injury bug, and Porzingis is the guy the club should be most wary of. His durability concerns throughout his whole professional career speak for themselves, and he’s perhaps the most vital player on the team.
Boston’s coaching staff probably always intended to keep Porzingis healthy and fresh for April and beyond, but they now have more room to maneuver because of the team’s depth and success.
Porzingis’ replacement Al Horford played the fewest minutes of his career (26.7), yet he looks better than ever. In his 33 minutes on Thursday night, he scored a season-high 24 points, including six 3-pointers, as he punished Jusuf Nurkic for lying off him in order to preserve the paint.
“I thought our group’s mindset tonight was really great,” Horford remarked. only realizing what was before us.
The season is lengthy. This type of thing happened in the schedule from time to time, and it seemed like we were fighting and competing all night long. We simply stuck with it, kept up our aggressive play, and made energy plays even though we knew they were going to do their hardest.
In other areas, Boston’s depth in bench bigs Luke Kornet and Xavier Tillman has shown some consistency. Since joining Boston two weeks ago via a trade deadline deal from Memphis, Tillman has shown to be a reliable rebounder and versatile defender. Kornet has been among the NBA’s finest backup big man players this season in terms of production per minute.
“Xavier is incredibly fun to play with,” stated Horford. “When I’m out there with him, he eases the pressure off me and makes the game easy for me. He reads the court well, makes the right plays, and can defend really well with his feet.” I can’t wait to play with him and build that connection because he simply understands how to have fun.
As a whole, these events have created the ideal situation for the Celtics and Porzingis going into the last month of the regular season. The seasoned player fits in well with this squad and has mostly made it through the grind of the regular season.
With a completely capable group behind him and the Celtics dominating the rankings with 15 victories in their past 17 games, the club can bring him back on the court for spells whenever they see fit in the upcoming weeks. However, there won’t be any feeling of urgency. Because of this fact, Boston should be even more difficult to defeat come playoff time.
