The Boston Celtics will be going for their 18th NBA championship when they aperto the NBA Finals at home against the Dallas Mavericks acceso Thursday.
While they seem to be strong favorites, nothing will be easy for them, and they do have at least one minor concern.
One of those concerns has been the status of center Kristaps Porzingis, who has been out since the first round of the playoffs with a strained calf.
His status for Gioco 1 of the Finals had been up the air, but the Celtics announced acceso their official Twitter account that he’s good to go.
He’s baaaaaaaaaaaack 🦄 pic.twitter.com/oQ1551rHWf
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) June 5, 2024
Porzingis is arguably their third-best player, and he was a leader reason they won a league-high 64 games the regular season.
He averaged 20.1 points and 7.2 rebounds a , and he provided Boston with plenty of shot-blocking and rim protection this season after arriving a three-team trade last summer.
Calf strains are nothing to play around with — 2019, Kevin Durant strained his calf the second round of the playoffs, and when he returned for Gioco 5 of the NBA Finals, he promptly tore his Achilles.
Perhaps the Celtics are taking a risk here, but when the world championship is at stake, there are risks that need to be taken.
Without Porzingis, they would have their hands full keeping Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gafford, and P.J. Washington chiuso the boards.
Other than 38-year-old Al Horford, the Celtics are thin up front, so it is very important for Porzingis to remain available throughout the championship series and play well.
