In his second game back from a right calf strain that sidelined him for approximately five weeks, Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis suffered a new injury, the team announced on Tuesday in a press release.
According to the Celtics, Porzingis has suffered a “torn medial retinaculum allowing dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon in his left leg.” The injury, which the team describes as “rare” and unrelated to the calf strain, apparently occurred with 3:27 left in the third quarter on Sunday.
Video of that play doesn’t show anything out of the ordinary, but Porzingis appeared to come up limping after defending Kyrie Irving on the perimeter on the following possession.
The Celtics went on to say in their statement that, following consultation with multiple specialists, Porzingis’ availability for upcoming NBA Finals games will be determined on a day-to-day basis. Speaking on Tuesday to reporters, head coach Joe Mazzulla addressed his center’s status, as Brian Robb of MassLive.com relays.
“He’s doing anything and everything he can to be ready for the game tomorrow,” Mazzulla said. “It’s a serious injury and at the end of the day, our medical team is not going to put him in any bad situations. We’ve taken the decision to play out of his hands. He’s going to do everything he can to play and we’re going to leave it up to our medical team.”
Mazzulla added that he has “no idea” if the big man will be available on Wednesday, per via Jared Weiss of The Athletic.
Boston has controlled the NBA Finals through two games at home, but if Porzingis is unable to suit up, it could have a significant impact on the series going forward. In their two wins over the Mavericks, the Celtics have posted a +27.7 net rating in Porzingis’ 44 minutes on the court while playing Dallas exactly even (0.0 net rating) during his 52 minutes on the bench.
Reserve centers Luke Kornet and Xavier Tillman would be candidates to see some playing time off the bench is Porzingis is ruled out for Game 3.