BOSTON – Kristaps Porzingis went through a full, moderate practice with the Celtics Saturday morning and he appears to be getting back into the swing of things according to his peers.
Joe Mazzulla, Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, and Jrue Holiday all reported on the progress they’ve seen out of their 7-foot-3 center, who has been sidelined since the middle of Round 1 with a calf strain. And they expressed nothing but optimism regarding him being ready for their NBA Finals matchup against the Dallas Mavericks.
“He’s been working extremely hard just to get back and to help us in any way he can,” White said of Porzingis’ impending return. “So obviously these practices and these reps are going to be good. It’s a little bit different than what Al [Horford] and obviously what Luke [Kornet] and [Xavier Tillman] do, so some aspects might be a little bit different. But any chance you can add a guy like KP, and he’s just willing to do whatever we need, he’ll make it easy.”
Just like he did all season.
The Celtics are a totally different team with a healthy KP, and that’s part of the reason why they’ve been so deliberate in ramping him back up so that he’s at 100 percent health at the opportune time.
“When KP’s at his best, he’s been tremendous for us,” said Mazzulla. “We expect that from him and we know he’ll give that to us.”
What he gives them is another 20-point scorer whose length and versatility change the dynamic of the offense.
Then on defense, he provides elite rim protection, which could be critical against Dallas’ prolific scoring.
“He’s shown the ability to be flexible, to be in touch, to switch, to rotate, so he’s just got to be willing to do whatever it takes, which he has done and our defense has done,” said Mazzulla. “And to have an understanding that this is a high-powered offensive team and they test you. Same with Indiana – the way they test you emotionally, they test you discipline-wise, they test what you’re willing to give up. And so you’ve got to stay firm in that and you’ve got stay simple, yet flexible.”
Porzingis’ flexibility is part of what made him so valuable this season, according to Tatum.
“KP essentially did exactly what we needed him to do the entire season,” said JT, “whether it was punishing switches or space the 5-man, being in the corner. Sometimes that might be going possessions without touching the ball, or it may be when they’re switching, we give him the ball five times in a row. Joe talks about everybody’s just open-mindedness to whatever we’re trying to do. We switch things up a lot and we have so many talented, gifted players on the offensive and defensive end. Everybody’s just got to be open to trying different things. And I give KP a lot of credit, especially for somebody as talented as he is and obviously as tall as he is. A lot of the big guys may be stuck in their ways doing what makes them comfortable. He got outside his comfort zone a little bit and it made us a better team.”
It’s easy to see why the Celtics are so thrilled to get Porzingis back after everything he’s provided them with this season. And Holiday thinks his transition back into the flow of things will be seamless.
“KP is one of the best scorers, he’s one of our best rim protectors, and I feel like we’re all mature enough to get back in the groove or have him fit right back in whenever he comes back,” Holiday said. “We want KP back. Like, we can’t wait for him to be back and be a part of this on the court.”