Right now my body isn’t working properly: Porzingis pain amid “weird” Celtics mystery
Kristaps Porzingis struggled physically in the Boston Celtics’ playoff defeat to the New York Knicks, but it’s unclear exactly what the problem is.
Kristaps Porzingis has acknowledged that he’s not the player he should be right now. The Boston Celtics’ playoff series against the New York Knicks, the very team that drafted him into the NBA a decade ago, has prompted some personal reflection for the Latvian. The center performed well below expectations in the six games against his former team, who capitalized on Jayson Tatum’s serious injury to secure their spot in the Eastern Conference Finals.
It’s not just an issue with Porzingis’s game - but neither he nor the Celtics’ head coach, Joe Mazzulla, has specified the exact reason behind the physical decline that has prevented him from performing at his best.
After joining the Celtics last season and playing a key role in Boston’s 2024 championship win, meshing well with Al Horford in the inside positions and establishing good chemistry with Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and Jrue Holiday, Porzingis had solid numbers during the regular season. He averaged 19.5 points, making nearly half of his field goal attempts, along with 6.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists.
He had ups and downs in the first round of the playoffs against the Orlando Magic, but it was against the Knicks that he really struggled, averaging just 4.2 points in 15.5 minutes per game. His playing time was cut in half, and his production dropped even more. Karl-Anthony Towns shone, and Mitchell Robinson surprised against the duo of Porzingis and Horford, who was also below his usual standards. The numbers speak for themselves, but the protagonists remain silent. Something is wrong that isn’t being openly discussed.
“It’s weird, weird, weird”
Porzingis mentioned a few days ago, when it was surprising to see him so uninvolved, that he has been affected again by a virus he caught in March: “I went really hard [in practice] the day before [a game against the L.A. Lakers], 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 [against the Celtics], 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.”
“Praying that he feels better”
Mazzulla noted earlier this week that Porzingis “couldn’t breathe” naturally. The ESPN journalist Shams Charania added some information: Porzingis has been receiving medication and immunization shots, changed his sleep routine, and wakes up every day “hoping and praying that he feels better”. This summer, he plans to rest.
“My system is not perfect right now”
The player provided an update on his situation after the Celtics’ elimination on Friday, but either he doesn’t know what his precise ailment is or he doesn’t want to disclose it. “I always try to downplay it in my own mind,” he told reporters. “It’s like, ‘I’m good, I’m good.’ But I think just, I don’t know, my system is not perfect right now. It’s not working the way it should be. Many weird things and it might be that the best thing I need right now is just rest. Get somewhere in the sun and let my system kind of even itself out. But it’s definitely a very frustrating time for me.”
Although it’s still only May, Porzingis is only going to get so much R&R before next season. In his remarks to the press in the locker room in New York, Porzingis - whose future at the Celtics is up in the air - acknowledged that he plans to play for Latvia at EuroBasket in the summer (remember, he missed the last World Cup, where his country reached the quarter-finals, as he recovered from plantar fasciitis).
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