The Boston Celtics took on the Washington Wizards in DC on Sunday night, and they absolutely demolished them. Washington stuck with the Celtics through the first few minutes of the game, but after that, it was all green. Unfortunately, the comfortable victory was masked by a brutal occurrence—an injury to Kristaps Porzingis.
The Latvian big man was listed as questionable to return and did not reenter the game after half-time. His injury designation was “right heel pain,” and Porzingis revealed that the issue popped up during the win over Washington. He provided an update on what happened while speaking with reporters after the contest.
And every fan should hear what he had to say. (H/t NBC Sports Boston)
Kristaps Porzingis isn't worried about injury
“I banged up my heel a little bit in the first quarter early,” Porzingis said, as transcribed by Khari Thompson of Boston.com. “Not early, but in the first quarter at some point. I kept on playing. It’s nothing major honestly. It’s more like a precautionary thing.”
“And then like in the second when it started, it was pretty sensitive, so I told the medical staff, and they pulled me out the game. I don’t think it’s anything major.”
Porzingis has a history of lower-body injuries. In the playoffs last year alone, he suffered two. A calf strain held Porzingis out for over two rounds of action, as he injured it against the Miami Heat in Round 1.
Then, shortly after making his return, Porzingis suffered a "torn medial retinaculum, allowing dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon.”
His calf strain was in his right leg, the same as his new heel issue, while the rare injury he was dealt in the Finals occurred in his left leg.
But for as scary as Porzingis’ injury history is, every single Celtics fan should take solace in the injury that he provided after the game.
For one, Porzingis said that he kept playing after the problem popped up. That means he felt good enough to play on it. He also noted that he only sat out because he wanted to be careful.
But perhaps most important of all, Porzingis said that he doesn’t think it’s a major problem.
It makes sense for people to be worried about Porzingis’ injury. A guy with his history is bound to draw concern, especially when he exits a game in the manner that he did. But based on everything he said, this issue isn’t one that fans should get all worked up about.