Celtics Injury Report: Kristaps Porziņģis’ Return Timeline Confirmed Ahead Of Game 5 vs Heat

The Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat Game 5 is about to get underway and we have our latest update on their injury-riddled big man, Kristaps Porziņģis. Senior NBA Insider Chris B Haynes has confirmed that the Latvian 7-footer won’t be playing tonight. It would seem like Porziņģis won’t suit up for the coming series, either.

NBA on TNT tweeted Haynes’ update. “He is out with that right calf strain … [And] obviously out for this series, but I’m told he’s likely out for next series as well.” However, if the Cs were to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, Porziņģis’ return is something Boston fans can look forward to. Anything else before that is not possible. They would be relieved that his right calf strain is nothing more serious; like an Achilles tendon. He will reportedly be reevaluated in 6-7 days.

Al Horford will be taking over Porziņģis’ role and will continue his duties until the 28-year-old is back. In Horford’s last 15 games for Boston, they’ve won 14. He is perfectly capable of handling whatever his team asks of him. And when Haynes asked ‘Big Al’ about the chemistry between him and the Cs, the Dominican center had a simple answer.

“Whether I’m coming off the bench or starting, we have continuity, we have rhythm.” Horford also provided a little detail about their mentality for tonight. Or at least, the kind of mentality he wanted the team to have. “Treat tonight’s game like Game 7.” His reason was that the team really needed to rest before their next battle. Taking care of business early was the only way they could do that, from what he saw from Orlando, Cleveland, and other series.

Whoever may be their next opponent, they cannot take them “lightly.” However, shifting our focus back to Kristaps Porziņģis, let us quickly refresh your memories from the other night.

What happened to Kristaps Porziņģis?

In Game 4 of the Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat, Kristaps Porziņģis left the floor in the first half after sustaining a non-contact injury in the second quarter. Jaylen Brown had passed him the ball and just as he was about to get going, the All-Star suddenly lost control and limped. While JB was at hand to catch hold of the ball, Porziņģis immediately asked to be subbed out.

He left the arena in walking boots, noticeably having a hard time walking. After getting medical imaging the first thing in the morning, thankfully, it was just a strain. The Celtics have gone 43-14 with Kristaps this season. And without the big man, they still had a 21-4 record. But of course, it is a team loaded with superstar talent.

But when he was on the floor, the Cs limited their opponents to 109.1 points. Without him, it increased by a few decimals: 109.4. It might look minuscule, but we all know what these slight differences can do to the outcome of a game.