{"id":1583168,"date":"2024-06-05T12:55:58","date_gmt":"2024-06-05T16:55:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?p=1583168"},"modified":"2024-06-05T12:55:58","modified_gmt":"2024-06-05T16:55:58","slug":"celtics-coach-joe-mazzulla-says-kristaps-porzingis-will-have-a-little-bit-of-rust","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/celtics-coach-joe-mazzulla-says-kristaps-porzingis-will-have-a-little-bit-of-rust\/","title":{"rendered":"Celtics Coach Joe Mazzulla Says Kristaps Porzingis Will Have ‘A Little Bit Of Rust'"},"content":{"rendered":"
Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis said Tuesday that “the plan” is for him to be available in Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks.<\/p>\n
“That is the plan right now,” Porzingis said of playing Thursday. “Again, it's a couple more days, and I think that could make a difference. Every day gives me a bit more time to get even better.”<\/p>\n
Porzingis, 28, has been out since suffering a right calf strain<\/a> in Game 4 of the Celtics' first-round playoff series against the Miami Heat. He returned to practice Friday and participated fully in a light session Saturday.<\/p>\n All eyes are on the 2018 NBA All-Star given he spent three years with the Mavericks before being traded in February 2022. In 57 games (all starts) with Dallas in the 2019-20 season, he averaged 20.4 points and a career-high 9.5 rebounds per contest.<\/p>\n When Porzingis was asked Tuesday if he is 100 percent right now, the center took several long seconds before responding.<\/p>\n “Good question,” he said. “I don't know. We'll see. Done a lot of work up until this point. Done everything needed to get back into playing shape. We'll see.”<\/p>\n Kristaps Porzingis takes a 10-second pause when asked if he\u2019s running pain free, smiles, and then says:<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/QxeSi4sAfe<\/a><\/p>\n\n