The opening question was simple enough.
An earlier report suggested Kristaps Porzingis would be ready for Game 1 and Porzingis walked into the media room at the Auerbach Center ready to answer questions. So asking him if he was 100% seemed like a good place to start.
“Haha ... how you doing guys?” Porzingis joked after apparently expecting a softer opening to the questioning. “Good question. I don't know. We'll see. Have a couple more days. Done a lot of work up until this point. Done everything needed to get back into playing shape. We'll see."
Those were a lot of words to basically say “no.” Porzingis has missed five weeks after injuring his right soleus muscle, a portion of the lower calf, in Game 3 of the opening-round series against Miami. When he was asked if he was running pain-free, he paused for seven full seconds before simply saying, “yes.”
That was not exactly convincing.
Porzing is says he plans on being available for Game 1 of the NBA Finals, though he opened the door to that changing.
“That is the plan right now,” Porzingis said. “Again, it's a couple more days and I think that could make a difference. Every day gives me a bit more time to get even better.”
Everyone knows how much Porzingis means to the Celtics. His ability to impact both ends of the floor and forces Dallas into tough choices. His return could take the sting off this series, allowing him to get back to doing what he’s done best over his career: Keeping the Mavericks from winning anything meaningful.
But to what end? How much is Porzingis risking by taking the floor?
“I think the medical staff would not put me out there if they wouldn’t be confident that I’d be good,” Porzingis said. “I’ve done the things necessary to check the boxes, and that's it. Of course, it’s hard to imitate the same intensity in practice. That intensity is going to be a completely different level, but I have to be confident it will be alright.”
It’s obvious the debate of whether he was or wasn’t able to get into the Pacers series was premature. He wasn’t close to 100% then and he clearly isn’t at 100% now. His injury is being supported by kinesio tape, which hopefully is enough to keep everything working like it should. Porzingis might not be his usual self, but he’s enough of him to make sure he’s on the floor for his first-ever Finals appearance.
"I'm feeling better each day. It's been a long process, I'm not going to lie,” Porzingis said. “It's been tough to sit out, obviously. But I tried to stay as engaged as I can with the team and be around the team and do my work and be with the team. But it sucks. It really, really does suck. But we're here now and I'm feeling much better. Put in a lot of hours to get to this point. And look forward to getting some action on the court."
This is where the heart trumps the head. Porzingis has run out of time. Boston’s ultra-cautious approach with him all season is no longer an option. The NBA Finals start Thursday at 8:30 p.m., and Porzingis will be participating. However full his health meter is at that point will be as full as it gets this month. It’s now or never, and never isn’t really an option.
“Everybody thought it was going to be quicker, but then, it's a little bit longer, So it weighs on you,” Porzingis said. “But … it's like, who cares? Nobody cares. Just prepared myself and did what I need to do daily to get back. And that's it and see if -- yeah, we have this opportunity now. So go for it.”
The worst-case scenario is not something anyone wants to discuss. Everyone knows it’s not just the risk of re-injury that's most concerning, it’s the possibility of a worse injury. But after eight seasons in the league and understanding of how rare an opportunity to win a championship is, Porzingis is prepared to throw caution to the wind.
He's never played anything other than a first-round playoff game, and that is about to change. It's what he came to Boston to do, and nothing is going to get in his way.
"It's incredible. Just the energy, like everybody's buzzing. It's going to be exciting," Porzingis said. "Even just seeing the amount of people now. It shows the magnitude of this and what's on the line. As a team, as an organization, we're going into this series with full confidence, knowing that no steps were skipped. The goal is to finish the job."