Joe Mazzulla gives encouraging update on Kristaps Porzingis recovery

Kristaps Porzingis is getting closer to a return for the NBA Finals according to Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla. Porzingis has not appeared in a game for Boston since suffering a calf strain on May 1st during Boston’s first round series against the Heat.

The Celtics starting center has eight more days to rehab the injury ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals last week and Mazzulla hinted on Wednesday that he has taken some encouraging steps forward in his recovery while failing to commit to a return timeline.

“I’m not sure. I don’t know yet,” Mazzulla said when asked Wednesday about a Game 1 return in an interview with Zolak and Bertrand on 98.5 The Sports Hub. “I do know he ramped it up on the court a little bit. Like I said, he’s working really, really hard. There’s been a couple shootarounds where he hasn’t done anything with the team but has been in a 1-on-1 setting kind of ramping it up with the intensity level of it. He’s been getting better and better.”

The Celtics have managed to thrive while Porzingis has been sidelined against some shorthanded teams in the Eastern Conference. Boston has gone 10-1 without him over the last few weeks but that has come with an added onus on the team’s frontcourt. Al Horford averaged 35 minutes per game during the East Finals win but will now benefit from a 10-day break, a sharp contrast from the quick turnaround the team dealt with during the 2022 NBA Finals.

“It was a lot for our group,” Horford said of Boston’s Finals appearance two seasons ago. “It was very overwhelming, and I feel like we were trying to catch on the whole time there. And now we’ve put ourselves in position in the regular season to have homecourt advantage, to be in this position, and with this series we’re taking advantage of the opportunities and playing the right way. I feel like we’re more mature and we’re in a better place.”

The next week will be big for Porzingis as he attempts to ramp up his intensity to a level that is suitable for him to return during the Finals matchup. The seven-footer has never played in a game beyond the first round of the postseason during his career. Barring any setbacks, Porzingis looks poised to change that and give Boston a fully healthy rotation this postseason upon his return for the first time since the first round.