The Boston Celtics have only been dealing with nicks and bruises so far this season, but the latest ailment could be much more than that. Kristaps Porzingis exited the Celtics’ Sunday night win over the Washington Wizards. He was listed as questionable to return due to right heel pain and did not check back into the game after halftime.
Now, questions are swirling as to whether or not Porzingis’ injury will be a long-term or short-term one. Initial reactions made it seem as though he wouldn’t be out for a while, but for a guy with his injury history, there’s no way to know for sure.
That said, head coach Joe Mazzulla provided a new update after Celtics practice on Tuesday.
Joe Mazzulla provides new Kristaps Porzingis injury update
Mazzulla said that Porzingis is progressing and that the team will monitor his status on a day-to-day basis.
“He's getting better,” Mazzulla said. “He's in the weight room right now, [he's going to] go through some shooting, and then we'll just kind of see how he is day to day.”
Based on that, it sounds as if Porzingis will likely be listed as questionable (or out) for the immediate future as the team continues to check in on him.
Porzingis spoke with reporters after the game in Washington, however, and he made it seem as though the issue wouldn’t be a long-term one.
“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.”
That said, Porzingis’ history of lower-body injuries should be a red flag in this situation. The biggest potential issue is the fact that he had plantar fasciitis on the same foot in 2023.
There have been no indications that this is the same problem, but it could be, as plantar fasciitis doesn’t always completely disappear.
Combine that with his plethora of other injuries (ACL, tibialis, etc.), and it’s not hard to see why fans would be worried about Porzingis’ health.
The big man was in the practice facility on Wednesday, and Mazzulla said that he was going to go through shooting drills, but there’s no official update regarding his playing status moving forward yet.