Shams Charania believes Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis could be back sooner than expected.
The Boston Celtics are rich with talent, and the rich could be getting richer sooner than expected. Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis, who underwent surgery this offseason following a rare leg injury, could reportedly make his season debut in December.
On Tuesday afternoon, NBA insider Shams Charania revealed that the Latvian big man is healing ahead of schedule, via The Pat McAfee Show.
“The Celtics are targeting December, from what I’m told, for Kristaps Porzingis and his return,” Charania said. “And there was video I was seeing last night of him warming up before the game. He has not progressed to contact yet, but … he looks really, really good.”
“The Celtics are targeting a December return for Kristaps Porzingis.. It could even be earlier but they don't need to rush him back at all" ~ @ShamsCharania #PMSLive #DifferentHere
Without Porzingis, the Celtics have still dominated to start the season. They improved to 4-0 after beating the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night and have been able to get consistent production out of their backup centers like veteran Al Horford and 7-footer Luke Kornet. The C's are in no rush to hurry up Porzingis' recovery, yet they wouldn't mind having the 2018 All-Star back in
Aerial view of Kristaps Porzingis practicing pregame. Of course, he’s still out tonight
How healthy was Kristaps Porzingis last season?
During the 2023-24 campaign, Porzingis played in 57 games and averaged 20.1 points per outing while shooting a career-high 50.1% from the field. The Celtics were extra careful with his minutes because they knew how valuable of an asset he'd be in the postseason.
When the playoffs arrived, Porzingis delivered. However, his nagging injury issues didn't go away. In Game 4 of the first round, the former first-round pick sustained a calf strain and missed the rest of the series. He then sat for the entirety of the Eastern Conference Semifinals and the Eastern Conference Finals.
Boston rolled along without him, advancing to the 2024 NBA Finals to play one of Porzingis' former squads, the Dallas Mavericks. In Game 1 of the Finals, the 7-footer showed his old squad what they were missing, dropping 20 points, six rebounds, and three blocks in 21 minutes en route to a 107-89 victory. Unfortunately, Porzingis suffered a completely different leg injury in Game 2, sidelining him for the next two contests of the Finals.
