Kristaps Porzingis avoided injury when he tweaked his ankle during Saturday’s Celtics game.
Speaking at Thursday’s morning shootaround, the Boston big man said he was not feeling any ill effects from the play, which occurred in the first half of a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. Boston did not list him on its injury report ahead of Thursday night’s matchup with the Detroit Pistons at TD Garden.
“I feel pretty good,” Porzingis said. “I feel pretty good. Had a few days off, ready to go tonight.”
The ankle was the same one Porzingis had surgically repaired during the offseason, which caused him to miss Boston’s first 17 games. But the fact he was able and allowed to play in the second half against Memphis suggested the tweak was not any sort of setback in his recovery.
“I don’t know the medical aspect if there’s some risk of something,” he said. “But it just felt like a regular ankle tweak, honestly. For me to go out there and play in the second half, and for the medical staff to allow me to do so, I don’t think there’s any major risk or any major concern about it.”
The Celtics have managed Porzingis’ workload since his Nov. 25 season debut, sitting him for two of their last four games (both of which were part of back-to-backs). The 29-year-old said he’s still working his way back to top speed and expects to elevate his game in the coming weeks.
He’s remained productive despite that ongoing ramp-up, averaging 20.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game over his first five appearances.
“I think the easy part is just transitioning back into playing with these guys because we have the same team from last season,” Porzingis said. “The hard part obviously is just the physical aspect. Getting back in that NBA rhythm, a little bit of cardio the first few games. It’s hard to imitate that in practice. But I feel like I’m getting there, for sure.
“I still have a little ways to go, and I think that’s going to show more maybe in a little bit of precision, for sure, but also more offensive rebounding, more energy, cutting — the smaller things will maybe not be as noticeable, but I will know that I’m doing more of those. And I’m really getting there, so soon, I’ll be able to step a few levels up in how I play.”
Beyond Porzingis’ 19 DNPs this season, the rest of Boston’s core eight-man rotation also has missed a combined 22 games, with Jayson Tatum (knee) and Sam Hauser (adductor) both ruled out against Detroit. Despite those frequent absences, the Celtics entered Thursday with a 19-5 record, tied for second-best in the NBA behind the 21-4 Cleveland Cavaliers.
“We have a very complete team and a very hungry team,” Porzingis said. “A lot of guys that potentially would play a lot more minutes and have a lot more shots, a lot bigger role, have to accept their role that they have here because we are a winning team. We’re a strong team. … Myself, too. We all sacrifice a little bit for the better of this group, and last year, it paid off. We’ve got to make sure that we have the same mindset and the same willingness to sacrifice our own individual stuff for the greater of the team.”
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