Joe Mazzulla’s Kristaps Porzingis Update Is … Kind Of Good?

Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis has an illness.

Frank Sinatra and Esquire allusion aside, there’s been some mystery and uncertainty regarding Porzingis, who clearly isn’t 100% at a time when the Celtics could badly use a high-level performance.

Boston was only been able to use Porzingis sparingly in the first two games of the Eastern Conference semifinals. He was basically nonexistent in Game 1, going scoreless on 0-for-4 shooting while grabbing four rebounds in just 13 minutes of an overtime loss to the New York Knicks. He showed some improvement in Game 2, another loss, scoring eight points on 3-of-5 shooting, but again was limited to just 14 minutes.

From the outside, the lack of details does make it feel like something of a mystery, but Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla told “Zolak and Bertrand” on Friday that it’s not a surprise to the team.

“We do know (what it is). He has an illness,” Mazzulla said on 98.5 The Sports Hub. “He has the effects of that illness — fatigue and breathing — and he’s doing everything he can to give us what he has.”

With Boston facing an 0-2 hole in the series as it shifts to New York, the C’s need all hands on deck. The head coach said earlier in the week he was grateful for what Porzingis was able to give them in the first couple of games, but the big man is expected to be a major contributor for Boston to go another deep run.

Mazzulla sounded somewhat optimistic that a two-day break in between Games 3 and 4 could help Porzingis improve.

“We hope he continues to get better and better with these two days off,” the head coach continued. “We hope that it will be better. We need him for us to be at our best. He’s in there every day, doing what he can, and I thought he gave us those 13 or 14 minutes were good and hopefully we can build on that with a couple of these days off.”

Porzingis also missed time late in the season with an illness, and it’s clear he hasn’t totally kicked the issue.

At this point, the Celtics need all they can get from Porzingis and everyone else on the roster when Game 3 tips Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.