The NBA Finals crystalized just how much better the Boston Celtics are with Kristaps Porzingis on the court: He played 60 minutes total and was +33, sixth best on the team.
Those minutes were limited because of an ankle injury. Porzingis played through it for 16 minutes in Game 5 — the Celtics were +8 when he was on the court — but it required offseason surgery. Recovery from that surgery was expected to drag into the start of the NBA season. Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe asked Celtics president Brad Stevens about Porzingis and his recovery.
“He’s in Latvia. He’s starting to do more and more and more. He was in a boot for a while there, but every indication is he’s progressing well and he’s on the right timeline. But it’s going to be a while.”
There is no reason for the Celtics to rush Porzingis back early in the season, Boston has the depth to be near the top of the East without him. What they need him to be is fully healthy for the end of the season and a playoff run. At the time of the surgery in June, there was a five-to-six-month recovery timeline, which would have Porzingis missing the start of the season and maybe into December.
Porzingis suffered a “torn medial retinaculum allowing dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon in his left leg” during the Finals, with the Celtics saying this was unrelated to the calf injury in the same leg that had sidelined Porzingis for a dozen games in the playoffs.
It’s going to be a while, but the Celtics can wait. They know what matters and it’s not games in November.
