What Joe Mazzulla Expects From Ailing Kristaps Porzingis For Rest Knicks Series

The Boston Celtics certainly couldn’t have expected to have Kristaps Porzingis only on the floor for 27 minutes through the first two games of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Knicks.

It isn’t injury preventing the highly skilled 7-foot-2 center from playing. It’s a mysterious illness that Porzingis believes is related to the virus that caused him to miss eight consecutive games during the regular season.

It’s unclear how much Porzingis can provide the Celtics going forward as they try to climb out of a 2-0 series deficit. Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said it will be a game-by-game approach with Porzingis to see how he’s feeling.

“To me, I thought those minutes (in Game 2) were really impactful for us and he gave us everything he has,” Mazzulla told reporters Thursday, per CLNS Media. “With these two days off, hopefully he can recover a little bit more. He’s going to continue to just give us everything he has and every game will be situationally, dependent upon how much he can go. Just grateful for what he was able to do for us last game.”

Porzingis lasted just 13 minutes in Game 1 and didn’t score any points before exiting in the second quarter. Porzingis came off the bench to play only one more minute in Game 2, but found a way to contribute eight points and four rebounds despite his sluggish nature.

Porzingis said the timing of everything “kills him inside” to not be at full strength as the Celtics try to repeat as NBA champions. And Mazzulla can sympathize with the situation Porzingis is in.

“It’s just having an understanding that this is a competitor that loves to compete at a high level and he’s not feeling at his best and he’s putting himself out there for us,” Mazzulla said. “So, you have to be able to just acknowledge that.”

The Celtics will lean more on 38-year-old Al Horford and Luke Kornet with Porzingis not at 100%.

But no one on the Celtics can really replicate when Porzingis brings to the team. Mazzulla knows that, too.

“It’s not necessarily a game planning thing. I think it’s just because of the type of talent that he is and who he is as a player, you’d rather have him. You feel his absence because of his versatility and what he’s able to do on both ends of the floor,” Mazzulla said. “Our depth is a strength of what we have, at the same time, to have a guy like him, you want to have him as much as you can. And so, we’ll continue to try to do that and I know he’s doing what he can to make sure he’s available.”