BOSTON – When the Celtics take the court for Game 1 of the NBA Finals Thursday night, Kristaps Porzingis plans to be standing center court, taking the opening tip against his former Mavericks team.
After going through five weeks of rehab on his right calf, Boston’s starting center is finally about ready to make his return.
“I’ve done a lot of work up until this point, done everything needed to get back into playing shape,” Porzingis told reporters following Tuesday morning’s practice. “It’s a couple more days (until Game 1), and I think that could make a difference. Every day gives me a bit more time to get even better.”
Porzingis strained the calf during Boston’s April 29, Game 4 win over the Miami Heat in the first round and missed the entire second and third rounds against Cleveland and Indiana, respectively. It’s been a frustrating stretch for the 7-foot-3 Latvian, considering he was missing out on exactly what he had been anticipating all season: Celtics playoff basketball.
“It’s been a long process, I’m not going to lie,” Porzingis said. “It’s been tough to sit out, obviously. But I tried to stay as engaged as I can with the team and be around the team and do my work and be with the team. It really, really did suck, but we’re here now and I’m feeling much better. Put in a lot of hours to get to this point and I look forward to getting some action on the court.”
Porzingis has been ramping up his activity on the practice court over the past week. He’s been running through drills, participating in scrimmages, and has gone through just about everything that his teammates have gone through over the past few days.
Even though he hasn’t seen live-game action in more than a month, he’s optimistic that he’ll get back to feeling himself in no time.
“I have to feel confident,” he said. “I don’t want to go out there and be thinking about something. Once I’m out there, it has to be full focus on trying to play the best basketball I can and help this team win. Obviously it’s not ideal that I haven’t had any real minutes (since April), but I roll with the punches and it is what it is. I just try to be the best I can be with the given circumstances.”
Joe Mazzulla isn’t concerned about the ramping-up process either.
“He’s been playing basketball for like 30 years,” said the head coach. “He’s been playing intense situations his whole life, so I don’t think that will be much of an issue. Obviously you can’t simulate the speed and the intensity of the game, which I think just comes with a little bit of reps, but KP is a great player. I think just because you’ve been out for a month doesn’t mean you have to relearn how to play basketball. He’s been doing a lot of great things for us this season on both ends of the floor with physicality, with intensity. And I expect him to pick up right where he left off. There will be a little bit of rust; just not concerned because of the work that he’s put in and what he’s done in his career and what he’s done in this season for us.”
Porzingis will be stepping straight into a high-pressure situation unlike anything he’s experienced in his life, but he’s excited. This is what he came to Boston for, and he’s ready for it.
“It’s incredible – just the energy like, everybody’s buzzing,” Porzingis said. “It’s going to be exciting. Even just seeing the amount of people now, it shows the magnitude of this and what’s on the line. As a team, as an organization, we’re going into this series with full confidence, knowing that no steps were skipped. The goal is to finish the job.”
To finish the job with KP leading the way up front.