Boston Celtics Head Coach Joe Mazzulla shared an update on Kristaps Porzingis’ lingering sickness on Friday afternoon. During his weekly interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Zolak & Bertrand, Mazzulla explained that the team has figured out what the big man has been battling with.
"We do know,” Mazzulla told Scott Zolak. “He had the illness, and he has the effects of that illness with his fatigue and his breathing, and he's doing everything he can to give us what he has."
Though Mazzulla didn’t share the exact diagnosis, he did add that he’s hoping Porzingis will be able to feel more like himself after the two days off between Games 2 and 3 of Boston’s second-round series against the New York Knicks.
"It's an illness, and what's impacted is his fatigue and his breathing," Mazzulla added. "So, he's just working through those things."
The 29-year-old Latvian missed eight games after the All-Star Break with, what he thinks is "probably" the same illness.
"Probably," Porzingis answered when asked if this is related to that earlier sickness. "I've had ups and downs up until this point. And I had a big crash now, and my energy, my everything, hasn't been good, but who cares? I have to look forward, and it will get better from this point on."
This lingering illness has significantly hindered Porzingis from playing at his best
Porzingis has struggled in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, to say the least. After putting together a solid regular season, where he averaged 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game on 48.3/41.2 shooting splits, he’s only been about half as productive in seven postseason appearances.
"I'm just not feeling my best," he explained following Boston's 91-90 Game 2 loss to New York. "It kills me inside that it's happening in this moment.
To be frank, there have been times when he’s looked like a straight-up liability for the Celtics.
In Game 1 of Boston’s second-round series against the New York Knicks, he struggled in the first quarter, left the floor, and never returned to play due to the lingering illness.
His outing in Game 2 was more substantial. He played 14 minutes and managed to put in eight points, but he still failed to affect the game in the same way that he’s proven to be capable of. Throughout this entire playoff run, Porzingis has failed to thrive in the post, which is an area that is usually is his bread and butter.
In the Orlando series, he struggled to sink paint turnaround shots over smaller players like Cory Joseph, despite burying what felt like 90% of them in the regular season. Boston has really missed his ability to create shots for himself in such a controlled manner. This decline has left him ineffective and just kind of in the way, at times.
If Boston is going to come back from their 0-2 deficit, they're either going to need this illness to subside, find a way for KP to be effective in spite of it, or lean more heavily on Al Horford and Luke Kornet.