BOSTON — Kristaps Porzingis, once again, looked a lot like his talented self in his second game back from illness. Going up against the same Nets team he torched a few days ago, the big man was everywhere Tuesday on his way to 25 points and 13 rebounds.
Porzingis played 29 minutes, so not as much as his first game back against the Nets, where he played in 31 minutes and the entire fourth quarter. That puts Porzingis and the Celtics in an interesting position for the rest of the season.
The C’s are solidly in second place in the east with their 50-19 record with 13 games left in the regular season. It’ll be both difficult to catch up to the first-place Cavaliers or be caught by the third-place Knicks. It’s why there isn’t as much urgency down the stretch to lean on their stars, partly why Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown both sat Tuesday’s win over the Nets. But for Porzingis, the big man explained why he wants to play as much as possible.
“I want to definitely play,” Porzingis said. “I need to get in the best shape. Now after the illness it’s taking me a little bit. But with each day a little bit better and somehow the schedule kind of working out for me right now because we had one game, two days in between a game, and now again we have two days, which is nice. This doesn’t happen often and it’s actually perfect timing for me. So just working my way back to the best shape and look forward to having my best shape now going into the postseason.”
The C’s implementing Porzingis back into the lineup is especially important ahead of the playoffs. The big man, as he showed Tuesday, makes them whole with his two-way play. Not only did he fill up the scoring sheet, but Porzingis also added three blocks on the night.
Part of the equation, too, is that Porzingis already missed the opening month of the season. He was out rehabbing foot surgery from the injury he suffered in the NBA Finals. Thus far, Porzingis has played in just 34 games on the season as he’s looking to ramp up his activity level on the court.
But the Celtics also want to be smart with Porzingis, who’s dealt with injury issues throughout his career. So there’s a balance there in terms of getting Porzingis back up into the game shape while making sure he’s fresh for the playoffs. Those decisions will need to be made, but regardless, it’s a positive for the C’s that he’s back on the court and playing at a high level. They now embark on a six-game road trip, their longest of the season, all against West teams.
“Obviously, we expect to win every game,” Porzingis said. “There would be maybe a handful of games this season that we were not favored. So I don’t know what the betting odds will say, but trying to win every game. And I don’t know what our roster will look like, is another question. But yeah, 6-0, come back home, would be perfect.”
