Kristaps Porziņģis in his playoffs career had only missed 1 game in 473 total games. And his much-awaited return at the TD Garden was good news for the Celtics fans. Even Former Celtics legend Paul Pierce was happy that the star player was back for the crucial final. He also made a proclamation that wouldn’t sit down well with the Dallas Mavericks fans.

Recently, Jason Crowe and Pierce discussed an impressive game 1 win by the Boston Celtics. Pierce questioned Crowe on what adjustments the Mavericks can make for a better game 2. Crowe broke down the game and said the Celtics were too confident from the 3-point range. He even quoted their stats. On the latest episode of The Truth Lounge, Jason Crowe said, “Boston had 27 three-point attempts in the first half they was too confident letting it rip.” He also spoke about the importance of Kyrie Irving but Pierce disagreed.

Pierce even put out a hypothetical situation where Irving ended up scoring 25 points. However, Crowe said “That’s not enough” for the Mavs to win the game. “Jesus it just shows you that Porzingis is the cheat code bro, I don’t know what adjustments that Dallas can make.” Crowe agreed on the cheat code but disagreed on whether or not the former Mavs player should start.

“I want to start Porzingis if I’m Boston because Horford is a fill-in anyway.” Pierce was not sure if the game plan from game 1 should be changed and was hoping for another performance off the bench for the Latvian. Regardless of limited minutes in the first game, Crowe feels that Porzingis could be the difference maker early on. But would his injury allow him to play more minutes?

Uncertainty looms over Kristaps Porziņģis injury

Kristaps Porziņģis excelled off the bench with 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks. His skills were on full display as he also scored two three-pointers on 8-of-13 field goals in just 21 minutes. Earlier, he was out because of a calf injury in Game 4 of their first-round matchup vs. the Miami Heat. The team decided not to risk it and the strategy paid off as the Celtics reached the finals without a major hiccup.

He is the fourth player since 1970-71 to score at least 20 points off the bench in his first Finals game, joining Derrick White (21 points in 2022), Fred Brown (30 points in 1978) and Phil Smith (20 points in 1975). “I don’t think I even expected myself to be moving so well,” said Kristaps Porziņģis on Game 1 via Rachel Nichols.

Coming off the bench, Porzingis was the early star. He entered the game with 7:17 left in the first quarter and scored 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting. So should the Celtics continue to manage the minutes of the 7-foot-2 Latvian or should they start with him to get that early advantage and essentially blow the game away from the Dallas Mavericks?

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the Reese-Clark rivalry and more, watch this video.