The Boston Celtics have been so dominant in their NBA Playoffs run that it's easy to forget that they are missing Kristaps Porzingis. Al Horford, Luke Kornet, and Xavier Tillman have all shared minutes to fill that hole in production. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown along with Jrue Holiday and Derrick White all had to do some type of rim protection duty too. But, it does not seem like the big man will take long to recover anymore. A possible return could be slated for him during this series against the Indiana Pacers.
When will Jayson Tatum's squad get their big man back?
Kristaps Porzingis is expected to return to the Celtics rotation in this NBA Playoffs run. A timeline has been set for his comeback and it looks like the Pacers should be trembling in fear, via Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
“When this series returns to Indiana, I'm told that Kristaps Porzingis could return as soon as Game 4 on Monday… There is momentum that he will return in this series,” the renowned NBA Insider declared.
The Celtics big man has been suffering a right calf soleus strain. This is the same injury that prevented Giannis Antetokounmpo from playing in their first-round series against the Pacers. Fortunately for Porzingis, the Celtics held their own against the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers such that he got a lot more time to recover.
However, the Jayson Tatum-led squad will not be forcing him to rush back onto the court. They have schemes and rotations packed in case he still cannot make it back to the squad in time. But, there have been big signs of his progress. The Celtics big man had already been seen doing some light shooting and some other workouts.
This injury got him hunted on drop coverage. The lack of lateral movements prevented him from being the elite defender that he was all season. Hopefully, this does not affect him too much.
The importance of the Celtics' star big
A key factor of Joe Mazzulla's style of play is being able to shoot the lights out from downtown. Porzingis is a key part of this rotation because of that. He stretches out the floor and draws opposing big men away from the paint. This allows Derrick White, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and the rest of the Celtics to easily find driving lanes. Moreover, he also knocks down 37.5% of his attempts from way out which is a big offensive boost.
His ability to shoot from outside, while integral, is not the only thing the Celtics will get out of him in this NBA Playoffs run. He also grabs 7.2 rebounds per contest which gets the team from Massachusets closer to winning the battle of the boards. The impeccable defense he also showed near the rim will also be back during his return. He is able to notch 1.9 blocks per contest.
All of these are big numbers that the Celtics are getting back. Will the Pacers hold their own once he comes back?
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