Kristaps Porzingis clearly is sick and tired and being sick and tired, and Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla knows his team certainly could use a healthier KP to avoid a second-round KO against the Knicks.
The 7-3 Porzingis logged only 27 combined minutes in the Knicks’ two victories earlier this week in Boston due to what he believes “probably” are the aftereffects of an upper-respiratory viral illness that sidelined him for nine games in February and March.
“You’d rather have him, and you feel his absence, because of his versatility and what he’s able to do on both ends of the floor,” Mazzulla said between games ahead of Saturday’s Game 3 at Madison Square Garden. “Our depth is a strength of what we have. At the same time, to have a guy like KP, you want to have him as much as you can.
“And so we’ll look at KP to try to do that, and I know he’s doing what he can to make sure he’s available.”
On ABC’s pregame coverage, NBA insider Shams Charania detailed a little more with how Porzingis has tried to battle through.
“It’s led to him having energy zaps and stamina ebbs and flows over the last couple of months, and he felt that he had actually turned the corner right as the playoffs started in mid-April,” Charania said. “But in his own words, he had a crash right before Game 1 of this series, and he’s tried a lot of different things to try to mitigate the side effects. I’m told he’s been receiving IVs, immune boosters.
“He’s even changed up his sleep patterns to try to get more rest. He’s essentially waking up Malika [Andrews] every day, hoping and praying that he feels better.”
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The former Knicks lottery pick was shut out in 13 minutes in the series opener before departing in the second quarter, and he scored eight points in 14 minutes off the bench in Game 2, sitting out the final 8:27 on Wednesday night in Boston as the defending NBA champions squandered a 20-point lead in the second half for the second consecutive game.
“I’m dealing with some, I don’t know what to call it, but I’m just not feeling my best,” Porzingis acknowledged after Game 2. “I’m not feeling my best at all, but it just kills me inside that it’s happening in this moment, and what I’m super appreciative about is about the support that I have on the inside, and also probably from the fans.
“But especially here inside the organization in this tough moment for me to not be able to be with the guys. It’s not an injury or nothing, but I’m just not feeling my best, and it’s tough for me, honestly. But who cares? Nobody feels sorry for us, sorry for me, and we have to keep going.”
The 29-year-old Porzingis was not listed on the injury report for Game 3 and Mazzulla said he “feeling better,” but KP was out of the starting lineup for the second straight game as the series shifted to New York, where he played for the Knicks from 2015 until he was traded to the Mavericks in 2019.
The Latvian big man did nail his lone 3-point attempt in Game 2 against his former team, but he has connected on just 16.7 percent (3-for-18) so far in seven playoff games after finishing second among Celtics regulars with a .412 shooting percentage from long range during the regular season.
He reached double figures in all but one of his 42 regular-season appearances, but he’s been held to single digits in five times already in postseason play.
“I thought [his] minutes [in Game 2] were really impactful for us, and he gave us everything he had,” Mazzulla added. “With these two days off, hopefully he’ll recover a little bit more.
“But he’s going to continue to just give us everything he has, and every game will be situational, depending on how much he can go. But I’m just grateful for what KP was able to do for us last game.”