Playing on Thursday for the first time since suffering a calf strain on April 29, Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis will come off the bench in Game 1 of the NBA Finals vs. Dallas, with Al Horford continuing to start at the five for the Eastern Conference champions, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
However, according to head coach Joe Mazzulla, Porzingis won’t be a minutes restriction on Thursday, as Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe tweets.
During his three healthy games at the start of the postseason, Porzingis averaged 30.5 minutes per game after logging 29.6 MPG across 57 regular season contests. Given those numbers, it would be surprising if he played more than 25-30 minutes in Game 1, but it sounds like he could do so if needed.
In his first season as a Celtic, Porzingis averaged 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.9 blocks per game with a .516/.375/.858 shooting line. He has diversified Boston’s offense with his ability to score in the post and make outside shots while serving as the team’s top rim protector on defense, so keeping him healthy will be a top priority during the NBA Finals. The big man missed Game 5 of the first round vs. Miami and the entire Eastern Conference semifinals and finals due to his calf injury.
Porzingis has started 458 of 459 career regular season games over the course of his nine-year career, as well as all 14 of his playoff contests. His lone appearance off the bench came in January 2017 for the Knicks when he returned to action following a four-game injury absence.