Kristaps Porzingis comes off the bench for the Celtics against the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday.
In 21 minutes for Boston, the Celtics’ big man scored 20 points, pulled down six rebounds, and blocked three shots.
Porzingis revealed he was limited in minutes when he met with the media after practice on Saturday, simply saying, “Yeah.” He did not go into detail about what that restriction looked like, only how he felt after Game 1.
“I’m feeling pretty good.” “Yeah, I feel good,” Porzingis responded, according to league transcripts. “There isn’t much else to add. “Preparing my body for (Game 2).”
The extra day off between Games 1 and 2 will only help Porzingis, who missed 10 games for the Celtics after suffering a right calf strain in the first round of the playoffs.
“It is big. Porzingis admitted, “It’s huge.” “But yeah, to be honest, the way I moved, looking back now at the game, and I don’t think I even expected myself to be able to be moving so well.”
Porzingis went on: “That was, again, a good sign for myself, and now having two days in between and preparing my body again, getting even probably better conditioning now for next game will be huge.”
Working back from the injury in time for Porzingis’ first game required both mental and physical preparation.
“Especially preparing myself all regular season for the playoffs and round one,” he stated. “Something unpleasant happens, and keeping mentally focused and in the proper position allows me to return later in the playoffs, and of course, I intended to return sooner, but that did not work out. But now I’m healthy and ready to play well in my first game back.
It’s unclear whether Porzingis will come off the bench again in Game 2, but having him on the court certainly increases the Mavericks’ defensive task.
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Celtics’ Tatum, Brown unify as Kidd’s statement sparks debate.
Kidd twice informed reporters on Saturday that Jaylen Brown is Boston’s “best” player, in statements widely viewed as an attempt to foment strife among the Celtics — but Brown and star teammate Jayson Tatum did not bite.
“No reaction,” Tatum said as the teams chatted with reporters before Sunday’s game two in Boston. “This is a team sport, correct? We realize that.
“We wouldn’t be here if JB wasn’t on our team, and the same goes for a lot of the other guys.
“We’ve all contributed to where we are now, and we recognize that individuals attempt to divide us. I suppose it’s a sensible thing to do or try.
“We’ve been in this position for many years, with guys trying to split us and claim that one of us should be moved or that one is superior to the other. So this is not our first time at the rodeo.”
Brown led Boston in scoring with 22 points and was outstanding on defense in Thursday’s 107-89 win.
“Jaylen is their best player,” Kidd said when asked about the difficulty of containing him. “Just looking at what he does defensively, he picked up Luka (Doncic) full court. He got to the free throw line. He did everything, and that’s what your best player does. Just understanding he plays both sides, defense and offense, at a high rate. And he’s been doing that the whole playoffs.”
Brown and Tatum are familiar with the question of which is the team’s top star — long a favorite topic of media debate.
As always, Brown said, the Celtics are tuning it out, even though this time it comes from a coach whose three trips to the NBA Finals as a player included a championship run with Dallas in 2011.
“We’ve been just extremely focused on what our roles and our jobs are,” Brown stated.
“We all had to make sacrifices. Jason (Kidd) has had to do this at the highest levels, and I admire and applaud him for it.
“Right now, at this point, it’s whatever it takes to win and we can’t let any outside interpretations try to get in between us.”
Instead, Brown stated, the Celtics are looking for new ways to unsettle the Mavericks’ dynamic pair of Doncic and Irving.
“We’ve got to be ready because they are really good after a loss,” Brown stated.
That is exactly what Kidd is depending on.
“I think there’s no panic with this group,” Kidd said. “We didn’t play well in game one … but it’s a series and we don’t just look to capitalize on just one game.
“We believe that we can respond in game two.”
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