Despite targeting Monday night for his return, Kristaps Porzingis still isn’t ready to take the court.
The Boston Celtics announced on Sunday afternoon that Porzingis won’t play in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference finals matchup against the Indiana Pacers on Monday due to his lingering calf injury.
Porzingis hasn’t played since their opening-round series against the Miami Heat, when he first went down with an awkward non-contact calf injury. He missed all of their second round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers due to his calf strain, and he was expected to miss the first few games of the conference finals, too.
The team was hoping that Porzingis could make his return in Monday’s contest at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. He has been “accelerating his on-court ramp up” in recent days in order to make his return. It’s unclear if there was a setback in his recovery, or if Porzingis simply isn’t ready to play yet.
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Porzingis has averaged 20.1 points and 7.2 rebounds this season with the Celtics, his first with the team. He’s shot a career-high 51.6% from the field, too.
With Porzingis out on Monday night, his next opportunity will be in Game 5 in Boston on Wednesday night. The Celtics hold a 3-0 lead in the series, however, and could close it out on Monday. That would not only send the Celtics to their second NBA Finals in the past three years, but it would give Porzingis even more time to recover.
Even though they’ve made it through the postseason largely unscathed without him, Porzingis would undoubtedly provide a big boost for the Celtics in their quest for what would be their first NBA title in more than 15 years — especially if he ends up getting a few extra days in his recovery.
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