Porzingis a key Celtics concern amid “super weird” mystery
Having lost star man Jayson Tatum to a serious injury, the Boston Celtics also have the problem of Kristaps Porzingis’s “weird” illness.
The Celtics are battling to stay alive under the most challenging circumstances. The reigning NBA champions shot themselves in the foot twice, a cardinal sin, at the start of their Conference Semi-Final against the Knicks, a team they were heavily favored to beat. Down 0-2 with the series shifting to New York, the Celtics then showed their best form in Game 3 but couldn’t secure Game 4, relinquishing a crucial victory (to go from a potential 2-2 to 1-3) in a second half that saw the Knicks hit top form.
Celtics suffer major Tatum blow
Moreover, Game 4 brought worse news than the defeat: Jayson Tatum suffered a severe Achilles tendon rupture, which not only jeopardizes Boston’s chances of repeating as champions, but also seriously impacts next season, which is expected to bring potentially traumatic changes. At the very least, painful ones, as it is the current core of the team that reached glory last spring in the NBA Finals, beating the Dallas Mavericks.
Illness-hit Porzingis a shadow of his true self
But there’s another problem for the Celtics: Kristaps Porzingis has barely been able to contribute. The Latvian has been dogged by an illness that has left him more out than in, with hardly any competitive level; a physical complaint that is surrounded by more mystery than real information. The power forward is playing less than 22 minutes per night in these playoffs, and his numbers (not to mention the overall impression he gives off) are those of a severely diminished player: 8.1 points and 4.5 rebounds. In the series against the Knicks, he has dropped to 4.2 and 3.4 in just 16.4 minutes. He’s shooting below 24% from the field and 15% from three-point range, with his main production coming from the free-throw line: he makes two free throws per night compared to just one field goal.
Including the series against the Orlando Magic, Porzingis is contributing 36% of his points from the free-throw line. A player who was supposed to be a game-changer, the cherry on top of the usually all-powerful Celtics lineup, is out of action. This is a huge problem, especially with Tatum’s absence, and it forces Al Horford (who will turn 39 in June) to push himself to the limit.
At halftime of Game 5, with the score tied at 59-59, Porzingis had accumulated a dreadful -12 in his minutes on the court. He hadn’t been able to score in play, and his defense was leaving much to be desired, with the big man unable to protect the rim despite his 7′2″ height and very slow in switching on the perimeter. The virus affecting him, about which the Celtics are providing no further information, is having a devastating and very obvious impact on his game.
“He couldn’t breathe”
In the second half, Luke Kornet took Porzingis’s place and was crucial in the Celtics’ surge. Coach Joe Mazzulla explained why Porzingis ended up out of the team in that decisive second half: ”I mean, he couldn’t breathe, so he was [only] available if absolutely necessary. That was just a decision between me and him. He was having difficulties breathing. But he wanted to be out there, and if we absolutely needed him, we would have been able to go to him and rely on him."
“It’s weird, weird, weird”
After the defeat in Game 4, Porzingis himself spoke about his situation: “At first, early on it happened whenever I would really push it. Even as soon as I got sick, I was preparing myself for the Lakers game [on March 8]. I don’t know if you guys remember, but we had the Lakers game, a big TV game. I went really hard the day before, and right after that, I was knocked out. Like, I could not move. And it’s been kind of like this. Some days, even though I go really hard, I’m OK. But sometimes, leading up to the second series, I did everything perfect - rest, nutrition - and just in the first game it hit me. Sometimes it makes sense, and this time, it didn’t make sense. So it completely caught me off guard, and I just had to deal with it as it came. It’s weird, weird, weird, honestly. Super weird.”
Between late February and early March, when the illness first appeared, Porzingis missed eight games. He returned to action on March 15, gradually regained his routines and his capacity on the court... but this is fading in the playoffs, where he has been one of the worst players among all participants (not just the Celtics): of the 123 players who have taken at least 20 shots in the playoffs, he is the second worst in percentages (35.4%). In the regular season, when he was healthy, he was above 57%.
“Hoping and praying he feels better”
Before Game 3, the first in New York, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Porzingis was receiving injections to boost his immune system but that even the doctors couldn’t stabilize his condition: “He’s essentially waking up every day hoping and praying that he feels better.”
At 29, Porzingis is once again hampered by physical problems, this time a respiratory illness about which the Celtics offer no precise information. His career has been marked by injuries, and even last season, his first in Boston, he proved himself as a champion but could barely play in the playoffs due to a dangerous calf muscle injury. In the Finals against the Mavs, he only featured in three of the five games, and his production was also hampered by that issue. Afterwards, he underwent surgery and didn’t debut this season until November 25.
Having joined the Celtics in June 2023, Porzingis signed a two-year, $60 million extension a few weeks later. He has one year left on his contract, so - especially after another playoffs where he couldn’t perform at 100% (or anything remotely close) - his name is one of those that will be most talked about in the moves the Celtics will likely make to lighten their increasingly unsustainable payroll.
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