Despite targeting Monday night for his return, Kristaps Porzingis still isn’t ready to take the court.
The Boston Celtics announced on Sunday afternoon that Porzingis won’t play in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference finals matchup against the Indiana Pacers on Monday due to his lingering calf injury.
Porzingis hasn’t played since their opening-round series against the Miami Heat, when he first went down with an awkward non-contact calf injury. He missed all of their second round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers due to his calf strain, and he was expected to miss the first few games of the conference finals, too.
The team was hoping that Porzingis could make his return in Monday’s contest at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. He has been “accelerating his on-court ramp up” in recent days in order to make his 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, his first with the team. He’s shot a career-high 51.6% from the field, too.
With Porzingis out on Monday night, his next opportunity will be in Game 5 in Boston on Wednesday night. The Celtics hold a 3-0 lead in the series, however, and could close it out on Monday. That would not only send the Celtics to their second NBA Finals in the past three years, but it would give Porzingis even more time to recover. Game 1 of the Finals is set for June 6.
Even though they’ve made it through the postseason largely unscathed without him, Porzingis would undoubtedly provide a big boost for the Celtics in their quest for what would be their first NBA title in more than 15 years — especially if he ends up getting a few extra days in his recovery.
Though Porzingis is out for the Celtics, Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton still has a chance to compete in the critical Game 4 on Monday.
The Pacers have listed Haliburton as questionable for the game as of Sunday afternoon due to his left hamstring injury, which kept him out of their 114-111 loss to the Celtics on Saturday. Haliburton first went down in Game 2 of the series, was also considered questionable for Game 3 before he was ruled out.
Haliburton has averaged 201 points and a career-high 10.9 assists this season while leading the Pacers to the conference finals for the first time since 2014.
Haliburton has dealt with numerous injuries lately, including his hamstring injury — which dates back to January when he slipped while driving to the basket against the Celtics. He was also recovering from a chest injury he sustained after colliding with Jaylen Brown earlier in the conference finals.
Though Haliburton was out, the Pacers still hung with the Celtics on Saturday night. Andrew Nembhard led the way with 32 points and nine assists, and both Myles Turner and Pascal Siakam added 22 points in the loss for Indianapolis.
Once again, though, the Celtics found a way to shut them down behind a near-triple-double from Jayson Tatum. All five of the Celtics’ starters hit double figures in the win, too, which came after their dominant 126-110 win in Game 2.
