The Boston Celtics currently have a 2-1 lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. After getting blown out by the Cavs in Game 2, Boston was quick to bounce back with a win to stay in the lead. But as the Celtics go out to play Game 4 on the road, Kristaps Porziņģis’ absence still looms over the team’s chances of coming out on top.
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According to the official injury report of the league, the Boston Celtics still haven’t been able to bring Porziņģis into their starting lineup. The 7’2 Latvian has been sidelined due to a strain in his right Soleus.
Kristaps Porziņģis last played in Game 4 of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs against the Miami Heat. While Boston did get the win, the team, unfortunately, lost the All-Star forward within 14 minutes of playing time. Since then, Porzingis has gone on to miss out on four games and all the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Cleveland Cavaliers so far.
The Celtics forward was a great addition to the team this past offseason and played a huge role in pushing Boston to the number one spot in the East. He averaged 20.7 points throughout the regular season while relishing being a defensive presence in the paint.
For the 2023-24 NBA playoffs, KP’s point average did take a dip from 20.7 PPG to average just over 12 points per game(12.3), as per StatMuse.
While the Celtics do sit on a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the team sure could use the services of the versatile floor-spacing big man. Meanwhile, in his absence, Boston does the privilege of having Al Horford as a backup big who has been nothing but reliant for the team.
Following last night’s 106-93 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, Jrue Holiday had this to say about Horford stepping up in Porzingis’ absence.
“We put a lot on Al… He’s one of the most reliable players I’ve ever played with.”
Jrue Holiday on how Al Horford has done stepping in for Kristaps Porzingis:
“We put a lot on Al… He’s one of the most reliable players I’ve ever played with.” pic.twitter.com/y5b3M7BwtT
— Jack Simone (@JackSimoneNBA) May 12, 2024
Al Horford may have been able to ease the blow of Porzingis’ absence but that has left the Celtics with few options in terms of putting reliable bigmen on the floor. So, it’ll be interesting to see how Boston fares off against the Cavs in Game 4 tonight.
Tune into TNT Network at 7:00 PM ET to see the Cleveland Cavaliers host the Boston Celtics for the fourth game in this best-of-seven series.
