Joe Mazzulla shared how far along Kristaps Porzingis is in rehab from offseason surgery

Kristaps Porzingis’s return to the Celtics’ lineup isn’t imminent, but he’s continuing to progress in his rehab from offseason leg surgery.

Head coach Joe Mazzulla said Porzingis has been participating in certain workouts that ramp up in intensity as he works his way back to full strength.

“He’s getting there,” Mazzulla told reporters. “He’s been able to do some stuff on the court. Some reads versus the coaches. Still, some up and down work, 5-on-1 vs. the coaches so he’s getting there.”

The Celtics big man suffered a rare injury during their NBA Finals triumph over the Mavericks. He was sidelined for multiple games due to a torn medial retinaculum, which was unrelated to the calf injury that previously caused him to miss the majority of the postseason. Porzingis returned to action in Game 5, briefly playing in their title-clinching victory.

While Porzingis returned to play that night, he still had to undergo surgery. Porzingis had the operation 10 days after the title win and was immediately ruled out for at least five months.

As the Celtics’ five-to-six-month timeline for Porzingis’s return nears, recent reports have indicated that he’s on track to return within that span. The Celtics are targeting a December return for Porzingis, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported earlier in November. Additionally, Porzingis’s pregame workouts caused NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg to believe that his return is on the horizon.

Whenever Porzingis returns, his Celtics teammates will be ready to welcome him back with full arms.

“I’m looking forward to him coming back,” Jrue Holiday told reporters. “Even just doing little drills here with him today, he just makes the game so much easier with his length, being able to protect the rim. And then obviously offensively, he makes the game so much easier for everybody – creating space for driving lanes or 3-point shots, not being able to switch off of him or when he gets a switch, him being able to take advantage of that.

“So can’t wait for him to come back.”

Porzingis had a tremendous impact in his first season in Boston. The star big scored 20.1 points per game while shooting a career-best 51.8 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from deep.

Boston hasn’t missed Porzingis too much in the opening weeks of the season. It’s gone 10-3 with an impressive 11 net rating, putting it on track to win over 60 games for a second straight season.

But if there is one area the Celtics are slipping behind, it’s their big man play. While none of the big men currently in the Celtics’ rotation are the scoring or shooting threat Porzingis is, they’ve taken a bit of a dip in their ability to protect the rim to open the year. The Celtics are allowing opponents to shoot 65.7 percent from within five feet of the basket this season, an increase from the 60.2 percent mark they allowed on such shots last season, per NBA.com.

Porzingis was a big reason why the Celtics were among the best in the league at protecting the rim last season. He averaged 1.9 blocks per game – which would have ranked in the top 10 had he played enough games – and allowed opponents to shoot 57.4 percent within five feet of the rim, which was the best mark of any rotational player on the Celtics.

Having a player like that on the backline provides ease to All-Defensive guards like Holiday.

“[He provides] comfort in him protecting the rim,” Holiday said. “Knowing that having somebody down there with the ability to protect the rim and have my back if I make a mistake, it just builds that trust in your teammates on the defensive end.”

For now, the Celtics will still have Porzingis on the sideline in street clothes during games. Mazzulla appreciated how involved Porzingis has been in that role as he anticipates his return.

“I think that’s important, especially for a guy that’s not playing, to be as engaged as he is,” Mazzulla said. “It makes it easier for when he starts to come back and we’ll just plug him right in, because he’s been here the whole time.

“That’s a commitment. That’s hard to sit there day in and day out and do that. So I appreciate that he does that. I think it brings a level of professionalism and togetherness to our locker room, and it’s been fun to watch.”