Celtics Release Kristaps Porzingis Practice Video, Provide Update on Game 4 Status

The Boston Celtics are one game away from a record 18th NBA Championship.

The Celtics currently lead the Dallas Mavericks 3-0, and can clinch a title as early as Friday night at the American Airlines Center.

The Celtics are coming off a 106-99 Game 3 win on Wednesday night, one in which they played without star big man Kristaps Porzingis.

Porzingis suffered a torn medial retinaculum in his left leg, allowing dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon in Game 2. He was able to tough it out in that game but was then unable to suit up in Game 3.

The Celtics said they would treat Porzingis’ injury on a day-to-day basis, and on Thursday, he was back on the court practicing. The Celtics released a video of Porzingis practicing with an emoji of two eyes, hinting at a potential return for their 7-footer.

The Celtics then released an updated injury report, where Porzingis is listed as questionable to play on Friday night.

Porzingis was questionable to play leading into Game 3, before being ruled out a little less than two hours before game time. He’s made it clear that he wants to return this series, but the Celtics have taken that decision out of his hands. Their medical team has full control of Porzingis’ potential return, and will only allow him to play in this series if they deem it safe.

The Celtics haven’t needed Porzingis this series or this postseason. Porzingis missed 10 games earlier this postseason after getting hurt in Game 4 of their first-round matchup against the Miami Heat. The Celtics went 9-1 in those games, coasting to the NBA Finals.

In the regular season, the Celtics were an impressive 21-4 without Porzingis. That brings their total to 31-5 in games without Porzingis this season.

The Celtics have gotten contributions across the board from Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday, and Derrick White, among others. They’ve been able to hold Dallas to under 100 points in all three games, and are now one strong performance away from hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy for the first time in almost two decades.

The last Celtics championship came back in 2008 when Boston beat the bitter-rival Los Angeles Lakers in six games. Since then, they’ve made two NBA Finals appearances, losing to the Lakers in 2010 and the Golden State Warriors in 2022. This is finally looking like Tatum and Brown’s time to assert themselves as a dominant duo in Boston’s storied history.