Mazzulla: Kristaps Porziņģis ‘Doing Everything He Can’ to Play amid Rare Leg Injury

Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porziņģis is still recovering from his leg injury, but he’s making an effort to be back on the floor when the team tries to close out the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 on Monday.

“He’s trying and doing everything he can to try to put himself in position to be out there,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters when asked about Porziņģis’ status on Sunday. “I know that for sure.”

Porziņģis was forced to miss the last two games due to a torn medial retinaculum allowing dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon in his left leg. He suffered the rare injury in Game 2 and was listed as day-to-day. Despite being active in Game 4, he didn’t see any action because Mazzulla said he was “not quite ready” and would’ve only been available for certain situations.

While Boston managed to take a commanding 3-0 lead without Porziņģis in the lineup, Dallas stormed to a 38-point victory in Friday’s Game 4 to extend the series. The blowout was disappointing, but the Celtics are confident they will return to their usual form on Monday.

“I think after Game 4, [Mazzulla] just reminded us to have fun,” star forward Jayson Tatum said. “We wanted to go for the kill, essentially, and we wanted to win so bad that maybe we got away from what makes us special and what makes us the Boston Celtics. Today, just reminded each guy why he’s important to this team and why we all need each other and what a person brings to the table. I think that was really important for us to go over today.”

Boston would be in even better shape if Porziņģis manages to return, as he was averaging 16.0 points on 60.0 percent shooting in the first two games. Celtics fans will certainly be hoping to see the big man back on the floor as the team tries to win its 18th championship in franchise history.