Kristaps Porzingis, Boston Celtics
After missing the last eight games with a mystery illness, Kristaps Porzingis’ return to the Boston Celtics rotation on Saturday, March 15. The talented big man quickly put on a show, ending the night with 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting.
However, Celtics fans will certainly be hoping Porzingis can rediscover his touch from deep. He went just 1-of-7 from the perimeter during Boston’s 115-113 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
When speaking to the media after the game, Porzingis provided some insight into the illness that had sidelined him over the past few weeks.
“I haven’t been this sick for probably ever in my life,” Porziņģis said. “So I was really, for a week really just laying at home trying to recover. And after that, I had lingering fatigue, and I still have it a little bit, but at least I’m now getting into shape to be able to play. But after each workout, I was boom, big crash. I was really, really fatigued. Like, not normal. So, yeah, it’s taking a little bit longer, but I’m doing everything, all my bio-hacking stuff that I know, and just trying to get back in the best shape possible.”
He continued.
“I was trying to push for the Lakers game, honestly. I wanted to come back. So I tried to push my body the day before and had a hard workout, but then the crash I had was, like, historic. The next day I couldn’t even get out of bed to go to shootaround.”
Now that Porzingis is back in the Celtics rotation, Boston can begin building for its impending postseason run.
Celtics Jrue Holiday Shone As a Playmaker
Jrue Holiday has been dealing with a mallet finger injury in recent weeks. That injury is on his shooting had, thus making it unlikely he’s going to find success when shooting jump shots. However, Holiday is a versatile talent, and has multiple ways he can impact a game.
Therefore, it should come as no surprise that against Brooklyn, Holiday became a playmaker for the Celtics. He ended the night with 12 assists, which led the game. He also had two steals and two blocks, ensuring his position as a reliable defensive event maker was never in question.
Holiday shot 1-of-5 from deep, but did have some success when attacking the rim or getting floaters off. As his injury continues to heal, we should begin to see more consistency with his jumpshot, but for now, those attempts will be patchy.
Celtics Backed to Win Another Championship
According to former Celtics forward Gordon Hayward, Boston should be the favorite to win the 2025 NBA championship.
“I’ll just take the easy answer here and say Celtics-Thunder and Celtics repeat as champions,” Hayward said during an interview with DJ Siddiqi of Basketball Insiders. “Just watching from afar, they appear to be in cruise control mode. I personally think they’re still the favorites. I think that come playoff time — and I spoke earlier about the experience you get in the playoffs — they certainly have that experience. No doubt winning last year, but even the experiences when I was there with (Tatum) and (Brown), losing in the playoffs, those are big deals. Those are the things you can’t teach and things that you have to go through.”
The Celtics dominated their way to the 2024 championship. If the roster can stay healthy, and they can reach their best level, the Celtics will be borderline unstoppable. Nevertheless, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder will both be stern tests, assuming Boston meets either of those teams on a potential run to the NBA Finals.
