Despite aiming to return on Monday night, Kristaps Porzingis is not yet ready to take the court.
The Boston Celtics announced on Sunday afternoon that Porzingis will not play in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers on Monday due to a lingering calf injury.
Porzingis hasn’t played since the first round against the Miami Heat, when he suffered a bizarre non-contact calf injury. He missed the entire second round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers due to a calf strain, and was expected to miss the first few games of the conference finals as well.
The team had hoped Porzingis could return in Monday’s contest at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. He has been “accelerating his rise on the court” in recent days to return. It’s unclear if there’s been a setback in his recovery or if Porzingis simply isn’t ready to play yet.
Porzingis averaged 20.1 points and 7.2 rebounds this season with the Celtics, his first with the team. He also shot a career-high 51.6% from the field.
With Porzingis out on Monday night, his next opportunity will be in Game 5 in Boston on Wednesday night. The Celtics maintain a 3-0 lead in the series, however, and can close it on Monday. Not only would this send the Celtics to their second NBA Finals in the last three years, but it would also give Porzingis even more time to recover. Game 1 of the finals is scheduled for June 6th.
Even though they made it through the postseason largely unscathed without him, Porzingis would undoubtedly provide a huge boost to the Celtics in their quest for what would be their first NBA title in over 15 years – especially if he ends up getting a few extra days in your recovery.
Although Porzingis is out for the Celtics, Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton still has a chance to compete in a critical Game 4 on Monday.
The Pacers listed Haliburton as questionable for Sunday afternoon’s game due to the left hamstring injury that kept him out of Saturday’s 114-111 loss to the Celtics. Haliburton went down for the first time in Game 2 of the series, was also considered questionable for Game 3 before being ruled out.
Haliburton averaged a career-high 201 points and 10.9 assists this season while leading the Pacers to the conference finals for the first time since 2014.
Haliburton has been dealing with numerous injuries recently, including a hamstring injury — dating back to January when he slipped while driving to the basket against the Celtics. He was also recovering from a chest injury he suffered after colliding with Jaylen Brown early in the conference finals.
Even though Haliburton was out, the Pacers were still with the Celtics on Saturday night. Andrew Nembhard led the way with 32 points and nine assists, and both Myles Turner and Pascal Siakam added 22 points in the loss to Indianapolis.
Once again, though, the Celtics found a way to defeat them with a near-triple-double from Jayson Tatum. All five Celtics starters also reached double figures in the victory, which came after their dominant 126-110 victory in Game 2.
