Celtics' Kristaps Porzingis Questionable For Game 3 With ‘Rare Injury'

Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis suffered what the team called a “rare injury” to his left leg and has been downgraded to questionable for Game 3 of the 2024 NBA Finals at the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.

Boston Celtics' Kristaps Porzingis has a torn medial retinaculum, dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon

The Celtics announced Tuesday that Porzingis has a torn medial retinaculum allowing dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon in his left leg. According to Boston's injury report, Porzingis' status for the upcoming Finals games will be “determined day-to-day.”

Porzingis, 28, suffered the injury during the third quarter of Sunday's Game 2 victory. However, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Tuesday that there's no indication Porzingis will be ruled out and not permitted to play at Dallas in Game 3.

“It's kind of a random situation,” Porzingis said Tuesday. “I felt something, and now I have to deal with it.

“As we said, yeah, it's going to be day-to-day, and I'll see how I am tomorrow, and obviously I'm going to do everything I can to be out there tomorrow, and we'll see.”

Celtics' Kristaps Porzingis suffered a torn medial retinaculum allowing dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 11, 2024

Porzingis was spotted wearing a sleeve and a brace on his left leg Tuesday, along with a brace on his left ankle. Although the 7-foot-2 big man was wearing braces, he was still able to walk around without a limp. When asked about his status ahead of Game 3, the eight-year veteran said he felt “pretty good.”

“I don't care,” Porzingis said, when asked whether his injuries are becoming a distraction. “I've been through some stuff in my career. Obviously, this is a rough patch coming back and having something happen right away again. It's tough ... just a tough moment right now.

“But I'm feeling pretty good. I'm feeling pretty good. Mind is good. We'll see tomorrow.”

Celtics are +25 in the 44 minutes Porzingis has played in the NBA Finals

Kristaps Porzingis made his return for Game 1 of the NBA Finals after missing more than five weeks with a calf strain, an injury he suffered in the second quarter of Game 4 of Boston's first-round against the Miami Heat.

The Celtics are +25 in the 44 minutes Porzingis has played in this series.

When asked about Porzingis' status at the start of his news conference, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said any decision on whether Porzingis will play will be determined not by Porzingis himself but by the team's medical staff.

“Yeah, I mean, listen, he's doing anything and everything he can to be ready for the game tomorrow,” Mazzulla said. “It's a serious injury. At the end of the day, our team and the 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. We're going to leave it up to our medical team. That's really it.”

The last thing the Celtics want is to see Porzingis suffer a season-ending injury in the NBA Finals. Boston currently has a 2-0 series lead over the Mavericks.

Porzingis did not go into any details about potential consequences of playing through a serious injury.

“I don't know,” Porzingis said. “I don't know the specifics. But that's something I'll leave in the medical staff's hands to determine whether I can go or not. ... Nothing is going to stop me unless I'm told I'm not allowed to play. That's the only reason I would not be out there.”

If Kristaps Porzingis is ruled out for Game 3, the team will have to rely on veteran Al Horford. The Celtics could also see either Luke Kornet or Xavier Tillman as possible backup options.