As the Boston Celtics are busy preparing for the Eastern Conference Finals, all eyes are on injured big man Kristaps Porzingis. The former All-Star has been sidelined Game 4 of the team’s first round series due to a calf strain, and Boston is already preparing to be without him for the start of the ECF.
That being said, Sunday did provide some good news on the recovery front.
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla spoke about his hurting floor-stretcher on Sunday as well. He said he’s “optimistic” Porzingis returns during the conference finals, but wouldn’t say if the big is making any progress — which is likely some gamesmanship from the coach as he tries to confuse his upcoming opponent.
Sunday’s practice, several reporters spotted Pozingis working out on the stationary bike. Jared Weiss of The Athletic even said the seven-footer was “going hard” on the machine, which shows he’s building some confidence in his leg to be pushing it like this.
Now, this isn’t something that signals Porzingis’ immediate return. But it is a move in the right direction and could precede him moving to more intense on-court work, assuming the injury doesn’t respond negatively.
While Boston got by the conference semis without Porzingis, his presence helped this offense hit another level during this past season. Going out and trading for him was all with the goal of giving the Celtics extra scoring firepower to finally fulfill their championship hopes, but that came with the risk of his injury history coming back to bite the team.
