Despite this, Kristaps Porzingis is not yet ready to take the court.
The Boston Celtics announced Sunday afternoon that Porzingis will miss Game 4 of their Eastern Conference finals against the Indiana Pacers on Monday due to his lingering calf injury.
against the Miami Heat, when he first suffered an uncomfortable non-contact calf injury. He missed the entire second-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers due to his calf strain, and was also in the conference finals.
The team was at Monday’s competition at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. He has been “accelerating his progress on the court” in recent days in order to return. It’s unclear if there was a setback in his recovery or if Porzingis simply isn’t ready to play yet.
Porzingis has averaged 20.1 points and 7.2 rebounds this season with the Celtics. He has also shot 51.6% from the field, the highest of his career.
With Porzingis out Monday night, his next opportunity will be in Game 5 in Boston on Wednesday night. However, the Celtics have a 3-0 lead in the series and could close it out on Monday. Not only would that send the Celtics to their second NBA Finals in the last three years, but it would also give Porzingis even more time to recover.
Even though they have made it through the postseason virtually unscathed without him, Porzingis would certainly give the Celtics a huge boost in their quest for what would be their first NBA title in over 15 years.