Celtics Provide Major Injury Update on When Kristaps Porzingis Will Return

Matt Levine | 5 Hours Ago

Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

The Boston Celtics have provided a massive injury update on star center Kristaps Porzingis. They say that he has reached the next phase in his recovery and will be assigned to the Maine Celtics.

He will then practice with them and will be recalled. Big man Xavier Tillman will be assigned to Maine as well.

Injury Report update:

Kristaps Porzingis has reached the next phase in his recovery. As part of his rehab, Porzingis and Xavier Tillman will be assigned to the @MaineCeltics for practice.

Following practice, they will be recalled and Porzingis will ramp up his workload.

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 18, 2024

Porzingis has missed the first part of the season for the Celtics as he recovers from offseason surgery. He has seen significant amounts of missed time throughout his career but was a big help to Boston in the NBA Finals last season.

Getting their star big man back could be extremely helpful for Boston but they haven't skipped a beat without him. The Celtics hold a record of 11-3 through the first 14 games of the season and are arguably the best team in the NBA.

However, Porzingis gives them another strong weapon to use on both ends of the court. He fit in very well with the Celtics last year, giving them some extra firepower against opposing teams.

For the season last year, Porzingis played in 57 games for Boston. He averaged 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.7 steals, and 1.9 blocks per game.

His presence has been missed so the Celtics are excited for his return. Boston guard Jrue Holiday has praised the big man for making life easier all around.

“I’m looking forward to him coming back,” Jrue Holiday told reporters. “Even just doing little drills here with him today, he just makes the game so much easier with his length, being able to protect the rim. And then obviously offensively, he makes the game so much easier for everybody – creating space for driving lanes or 3-point shots, not being able to switch off of him or when he gets a switch, him being able to take advantage of that.

Even without Porzingis, Boston has looked like the favorite to repeat this year. But having him back will only enhance that belief around the league.

Repeating as champions won't be easy but the Celtics are embracing the challenge ahead of them. They are a very confident group and will take on anything in their way.

Boston is the target of the rest of the league at this point but it seems that they wouldn't want it any other way.

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