So much for Kristaps Porzingis' latest injury not affecting his status for the NBA Finals. The Boston Celtics announced Tuesday that the sweet-shooting, shot-blocking big man suffered a lower left leg injury during his team's Game 2 win over the Dallas Mavericks, potentially sidelining him for Wednesday's crucial Game 3 at American Airlines Center.
Porzingis' current injury is unrelated to the right calf strain that sidelined him for the last two rounds of the postseason. His official injury designation is a torn medial retinaculum that allowed dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon in Porzingis' right leg.
Boston clarified that injury occurred at the 3:27 mark of the third quarter during Sunday's game, when the 7'3″ Latvian was being “pinched” by Dallas' Dereck Lively II and Jaden Hardy as they fought for rebounding position on a Jaylen Brown free throw. Porzingis remained in the game until there were 41 seconds left in the quarter, noticeably limping on his left leg. He returned as the game clock read 8:06 in the fourth quarter, playing a few more minutes until exiting for good while the Celtics pulled away from the Mavs for a 105-98 victory.
Sports injury expert Jeff Stotts, founder of InStreetClothes, provided further clarity on Porzingis' injury, noting just how rare it is for NBA players.
“Re: Porzingis: The medial retinaculum is connective tissue that serves as the roof of the tarsal tunnel (think carpal tunnel but in the foot). It anchors multiple structures in place, including the tendon of the posterior tibialis,” he wrote on Twitter. “If the retrinaculum is torn, the tendon can shift out of place (dislocate), causing pain and instability of the ankle and foot. I only have one real comp in my database but it was in conjunction with other traumatic ankle injuries that required surgery. It will be interesting to see how this is managed but given his injury history there is reason for concern.”
Dr. Rajpal Brar also provided a visual aid on the injury for those confused by the Celtics' wording. Porzingis, it bears stressing considering he had corrective surgery for a torn left ACL in 2018, is currently dealing with a foot injury, not a knee injury.
Kristaps Porzingis' massive two-way impact in NBA Finals
Boston currently lists Porzingis as day-to-day. Both the player and team downplayed the significance of the injury after Game 2, Porzingis going so far as to tell reporters he'd “die out there if we need” rather than miss more time with the Larry O'Brien Trophy on the line. On Monday, Joe Mazzulla said there was “zero” connection between Porzingis' most recent malady and the soleus strain that kept him out against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers, quelling concerns he could miss time in the Finals.
The Celtics' coach was singing a different tone 24 hours later, after medical imaging revealed Porzingis' concrete diagnosis.
“He's doing anything and everything he can to be ready for the game tomorrow,” Mazzulla said of Porzingis. “It's a serious injury. At the end of the day, our team and the medical team is not gonna put him in any bad situations. We've taken a decision to play out of his hands because of the importance of him. So he's gonna do everything he can to play, and then we're gonna leave it up to our medical team. That's really it.”
Porzingis has been a two-way linchpin of Boston's typically balanced attack against Dallas despite coming off the bench behind Al Horford. His scintillating start in Game 1 helped the Celtics build an early insurmountable lead, while Porzingis' ability to stretch the floor, shoot over the top of switch defenders and protect the rim loomed similarly large to his team's Game 2 win. Boston has outscored Dallas by a whopping 25 points in 44 minutes with Porzingis on the floor, but played Luka Doncic and company to a dead heat in the 52 minutes he's been on the bench, per NBA.com/stats.
If Porzingis can't go in Game 3, expect Mazzulla to dust off at least one of reserve big men Luke Kornet, Oshae Brissett and Xavier Tillman—all of whom present different strengths and weaknesses—behind starting center Al Horford, perhaps even leaning into downsized lineups that feature Jayson Tatum as the Celtics' de facto center. Boston and Dallas tipoff from American Airlines Center at 8:30 p.m. EST.
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