Kristaps Porzingis has a flair for the dramatic.
With just about four minutes to go before the usual pregame ceremony, the Celtics scoreboard flashed to a camera in the back hallway. Porzingis, with a coffee cup in hand, was making his way to the court, delivering a few fist bumps along the way. As he stepped through the tunnel and into the arena, he smiled his big smile, raised his finger to the air, and stepped onto the parquet for the first time this season as an active participant in the game.
“KP is a legend,” Jaylen Brown said, himself smiling at the memory of his buddy’s UFC-style walkout. “That's just him. So he definitely brings that swagger to our team and that energy and it was great to have him back out there.”
Payton Pritchard couldn't restrain himself either.
“It's amazing. The walkout was incredible, so that energized us,” he said. “He just can do so many things offensively, defensively that it just makes our life easier.”
That's a scary and unfair prospect for the now 15-3 Boston Celtics who are currently a game ahead of last year’s 64-win pace. They're one of two teams with 15-plus wins, one of three with a point differential of 10 or better, they're in a dogfight for the league’s top offense, and they have the NBA’s eighth-best defense … and they're adding one of the league’s best centers to the mix.
“I think we are a different team with KP out there defensively, him protecting the rim. And defense is key for us,” Brown said. “I want to see KP making an impact on defense … just being able to inspire that mentality on the defensive side is going to help our team go a long way.”
That was evident on one of the game’s signature plays. Kris Dunn, trying to make something happen against stifling defense by Brown, finally broke free towards the rim with no choice but to go up with a shot as his 24 seconds were almost up. But this time when an opposing guard broke free at the rim, he was met and swallowed up by Porzingis.
Brown maybe got a little aggressive on the play, but he knew he had that luxury.
"Defensively, the last two seasons, starting last year, I just made a commitment on that side of just guarding the best player night to night, back to back, don't matter,” he said. “But having KP back there allows me to be a little bit more aggressive."
We knew Porzingis was going to have this impact on the team. We’ve seen this group dominate games before, so it didn’t take anything besides a halfway decent memory to predict Porzingis would make things better. But there weren’t many who could see the return happening this soon.
“I was ahead of (my rehab) all the time,” Porzingis said. “I was itching to do more, start more … but I was still smart and we completed all the stages to get to this point, and I told them if you guys give me the green light and I can start playing, I want to do it as soon as possible. So, yeah, that was it. And I got here maybe even a month early.”
Porzingis returning early from injury might cause some fans anxiety considering his injury history. But Porzingis insists he’s not rushing anything.
“It was one of the easiest rehabs for me,” he said, admitting that the biggest issue was staying off the foot for the first six weeks. “But once that moment passed and I was able to walk, it honestly felt pretty natural … I just needed time to heal and get stronger.”
He did that over the past few weeks, slowly working his way back through shootarounds and individual workouts before ramping it up about a week ago. This game was his first step in getting back into full NBA shape. That is clearly still a work in progress.
“Obviously the first wind is pretty crazy, you know, lungs burning, legs burning, everything,” Porzingis said. “JB threw me a lob, Payton threw me a lob, like, both of them I had flat tires like crazy. Like, didn't get up at all.”
Porzingis was laughing at the thought of the second alley-oop, wondering how he was able to get the ball over the rim considering how rubbery his legs felt.
AGAIN 🦄 pic.twitter.com/hq6x2s1swt
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 26, 2024
But that's all part of the process. There's no substitute for actual basketball when trying to get into basketball shape. The Celtics will make great use of these three days off to make sure Porzingis is ready to play on Friday. The Celtics will probably avoid playing him on back-to-backs, just like they did last season. They will take great care to ensure, as best they can, that he’ll be healthy for the playoffs.
We saw against the Clippers why it’s so important to make that happen. He unlocks a lot for the Celtics just by being on the floor. He makes this potent offense even more dangerous and he shores up the weak spots in a defense that needs some help. When things got dicey in the third quarter, a couple of Porzingis post-ups helped settle things down and stop the bleeding. He makes a great team even better, which is a pretty nice feeling for a team taking every team’s best shot as they chase another championship.
“It was a pleasure to have him,” Brown said. “His energy, his presence was fantastic. We just gotta keep building as a team. Last year is over with. It's a new year. It's good to have that swagger, but we gotta keep our humility at the same time and treat every opponent with respect and just take care of business.”