Boston Celtics big man Enes Kanter has been cleared to return from his knee injury against the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night, according to Jay King of The Athletic.
Kanter suffered the injury during the Celtics' opening-night loss to the Philadelphia 76ers and has been sidelined ever since.
Boston did not skip a beat in his absence, winning seven straight games to snatch the best record in the NBA, but Kanter's return is coming at a perfect time for the C's.
On Saturday, during the Celtics' blowout win over the San Antonio Spurs, Gordon Hayward suffered a left hand fracture and will be on the shelf for an extended period of time.
Obviously, Hayward's loss is a significant one, as he had arguably been Boston's best player early on and had been averaging in the neighborhood of 20 points a night, so getting Kanter back to help the offense now is huge.
The C's signed Kanter during the offseason to help offset the losses of fellow big men Al Horford and Aron Baynes.
Kanter split the 2018-19 campaign between the New York Knicks and Portland Trail Blazers, registering 13.7 points and 9.8 rebounds over 24.5 minutes per game while shooting 54.9 percent from the floor and 78.7 percent from the free-throw line.
The 27-year-old is primarily known for his low-post scoring and rebounding, as he boasts career averages of 11.9 points and 7.6 boards a night. However, he is also widely known as a defensive liability, so it will be interesting to see how the Celtics utilize him, especially with the development of young, defensive-minded centers Robert Williams and Daniel Theis.
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