Dallas Mavericks power forward Kristaps Porzingis will make his return to the hardwood on Tuesday night in the Mavs' game against the Los Angeles Clippers after missing ten games due to discomfort in his knee.

According to Mavs.com reporter Dwain Price, Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle does not know how many minutes the 24-year-old from Latvia will play against the Clippers. Additionally, the Dallas Morning News' Brad Townsend reported Carlisle will likely have Porzingis play “shorter stretches than normal.”

Porzingis, a one-time All-Star forward with the New York Knicks, was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. During the 2017-18 season, he suffered a tear in his ACL in early February 2018, which sidelined the seven-footer for the remainder of the season and the entire following one.

In late January 2019, Porzingis was traded to the Mavs from New York and re-signed with Dallas in the following summer to a five-year maximum extension to play alongside Rookie of the Year wing Luka Doncic.

Porzingis made his debut for the Mavs in October 2019 and has since seen his performance dip in his first year back from the ACL injury. He's averaged 17.3 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks in 31.2 minutes per game for the Mavs, shooting 40.3% from the floor and 34.3% from 3-point range in 31 appearances so far.

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Earlier this week Carlisle downplayed Porzingis' injury but expressed encouragement within the organization into his recovery.

“I don’t know that it’s there yet. When you have a foundation piece and the guy’s missed nine games, the level of concern is certainly there, but to get into analyzing the exact levels … we’re encouraged that he had a good day today.”

After ten games Porzingis will be back donning a Mavs uniform back on the court next to Slovenian 20-year-old phenom Doncic as Dallas hosts one of the more formidable teams this year in Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers.