Kristaps Porzingis shares another new look into injury recovery
By Jack Simone
When the Boston Celtics traded for Kristaps Porzingis last summer, they knew what they were getting into. The All-Star big man has dealt with injury issues throughout his entire career, and during his first year with the Celtics, that fact remained the same. In fact, it came up at the worst-possible point in the year.
Porzingis went down with a calf strain in the first round of the playoffs against the Miami Heat, and he didn’t return until the NBA Finals. Then, in Game 2 against the Dallas Mavericks, Porzingis suffered a torn medial retinaculum, allowing dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon in his left leg. He played in Game 5 of the Finals, helping the Celtics secure Banner 18, but the issue required offseason surgery.
Now, Porzingis is slated to miss a good chunk of time to start the year, but his recovery seems to be going as planned.
Kristaps Porzingis posts new injury update implying everything is 'normal'
At the end of August, Porzingis posted photos (and videos) of him working out on the court following his surgery. He was in Latvia with Celtics assistant DJ MacLeay.
On September 10, Porzingis gave another small update with some photos he posted to his Instagram. From the looks of it, he is still working through his rehab on the court, and he is still in Latvia.
Based on the caption of the post, “normal,” Porzingis seems pleased with the way things are going.
Earlier in the summer, Brad Stevens noted that the Celtics will be without Porzingis for a long stretch to start next season. It’s believed that he will be out until around Christmas, meaning Boston will have to play roughly two months of basketball without the Latvian big man.
Al Horford will almost certainly start in Porzingis’ place, as the veteran center already started a majority of games last season, but other guys on the roster will have to step up, too.
Boston brought back Xavier Tillman, Luke Kornet, and Neemias Queta this offseason, all of whom will likely get additional opportunities with Porzingis sitting on the sideline.
That said, the Celtics are hoping for a speedy (but thorough) recovery for the star big man.