One of the Celtics’ key pieces will miss extended time — including likely the start of the 2024-25 NBA season.
On Thursday morning, the official team account announced that forward/center Kristaps Porzingis underwent “successful” surgery to fix his “rare” combination of right leg injuries.
Moreover, Boston asserted that Porzingis “is expected to return to play in 5-6 months,” a timeline that could mean the Latvian misses the first month or two of the new campaign.
Porzingis suffered the injury during Game 2 of the NBA Finals and was held out of action for the following two contests against the Dallas Mavericks.
In Boston’s clinching Game 5 victory, the 28-year-old scored only five points in 16 minutes of action off the bench.
Prior to being sidelined, Porzingis had poured in a combined 32 points and 10 rebounds during his first taste of Finals action.
Porzingis dealt with more leg troubles during the postseason, being held out of the Celtics’ series against both the Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers because of a right calf strain.
In place of the 7-foot-2 hybrid player, Boston primarily turned to Al Horford, Sam Hauser and Luke Kornet to solidify its frontcourt.
However, not having Porzingis for a more extended period has encouraged the Celtics to reinforce its combination of size and scoring.
During the first round of Wednesday night’s NBA Draft, Boston selected 6-foot-6 Creighton guard Baylor Scheierman, who averaged 18.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.
There are other questions about the 38-year-old Horford’s abilities, with the veteran eclipsing the 10-point mark in six of the team’s 19 playoff contests.
How head coach Joe Mazzulla configures his depth alongside Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Jrue Holiday remains to be seen, but the Celtics will certainly miss Porzingis as they begin their title defense in October.
