Kristaps Porzingis thought he was only going to play roughly 20 minutes in his first game back in a couple weeks. But midway through the fourth quarter, C’s coach Joe Mazzulla told him he was about to go the distance. That was indeed the case as Porzingis played the entire fourth quarter, finishing with 32 minutes, as the Celtics beat the Nets in the starter’s return to the court.
Porzingis had missed eight straight games in what he described as an "extremely, extremely frustrating" experience. He had tests to figure out what illness he was battling but there was a lot of uncertainty. But, finally, he returned to the court Saturday, putting up a team-high 24 points including a huge fourth quarter.
“It was some sort of upper respiratory thing that turned into something heavier,” Porzingis told reporters in Brooklyn. “I think Bronchitis is the word. Something like that, along those lines. But I hadn’t been that sick for probably ever in my life. So I was really like for a week, really just laying at home, trying to recover. After that, I still had lingering fatigue. I still have it a little bit.
“But, at least now, I’m now getting into more or less shape to be able to play. After each workout, I was, boom, big crash. I was really, really fatigued. Not normal. It’s taken a little bit longer. But I’m doing everything on my biohacking stuff that I know and just trying to get back in my best shape possible.”
Porzingis flip-flopped on the injury report ahead of games, listed as doubtful but occasionally as questionable. Porzingis said he wanted to push for the Lakers game last week, getting in a hard workout the day before. But “then the crash I had was historic,” as he couldn’t get out of bed to go to shootaround the next day.
That was the thought process for Porzingis: If he couldn’t help the team, then he wouldn’t return. So, the missed games piled up. It got to the point where Porzingis released a statement during the Jazz game on social media, updating the fans on his status. He wanted to clear the air, he said, that this illness was serious.
“People wanted to know what’s going on, why I’m out for so long,” Porzingis said. “Honestly, it was frustrating for me. Illness, out. Illness, out. Like, this guy can’t play through some illness? Even I would think that. I just wanted to let people know that I was really dealing with something and that I would never sit out for some cough. If I’m out with an illness, it has to be a little bit where I can’t really play to help the team.”
Porzingis said there was some concern that it was mononucleosis, though that test came back negative. So now, it appears the illness is behind him now. Porzingis said he got in a few workouts ahead of his Saturday return, and while he felt himself crashing a bit, it wasn’t as egregious as during the worst of his illness.
The Celtics are certainly thrilled he’s back on the court — Porzingis makes them whole again. His impact on both ends of the floor can’t be reproduced, even though the backup big men have stepped up consistently while he was out. Porzingis' value was seen Saturday again, even if it was the first time he played in a couple weeks.
With the playoffs roughly a month away, the Celtics will look to incorporate Porzingis back into the lineup. He’s had his frustrating moments, including coming back from offseason surgery to start the season, but he’s back now. And the C’s will hope he can stay on the court for the rest of the regular season and beyond.
“Feeling alright,” Porzingis said. “So far, no crazy fatigue yet. Hope that’s it. But even if there is some tomorrow, I’ll do all my red-light and all the stuff that I know helps me. Then we have two days now until the next one, so perfect.”
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