Kristaps Porzingis Injury Cleared Up Before Celtics-76ers Matchup

The Boston Celtics will get their redemption shot with the Philadelphia 76ers, however, it’ll be without the availability of starting center Kristaps Porzingis on Wednesday night.

Boston’s 7-foot-3 co-star is out for the second matchup of the season with the Sixers due to a knee injury, sidelined alongside Jaylen Brown. That’ll be sure to obviously limit the length, rim protection and offensive versatility that the Celtics have benefited from since adding Porzingis in the offseason.

More importantly, Porzingis’ absence might not be any cause for concern.

“He said that he was pretty comfortable with it,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters pregame, per CLNS Media video. “Just a bruise. We’ll manage it and he should be good to go.”

One of the biggest risks attached to Porzingis when the Celtics sacrificed Marcus Smart plus more in exchange for the once-unicorn of New York, was the lingering injuries that have followed Porzingis in recent seasons.

Porzingis missed 17 games with the Washington Wizards last season with ankle and knee injuries, creating a semi-reoccurrence. Yet, Porzingis downplayed the injury hours before tip-off.

“I got it on the (Julius) Randle drive,” Porzingis explained at Celtics practice, per Brian Robb of MassLive. “Just got hit just like a contusion. Nothing too serious but it’s a bit stiff.”

He’s averaged 19.7 points and 6.2 rebounds, scoring 20-plus points in six of nine appearances with the Celtics. The biggest indicator that Boston’s offseason blockbuster was among the league’s best moves is Porzingis’ career-best 65.2 effective field goal percentage.

There’s no question the Celtics will need a healthy Porzingis in order to enact the winning formula that could push Boston toward Banner 18, therefore, being cautious with the 28-year-old makes the most sense.