Kristaps Porzingis has dealt with a handful of minor injuries throughout the early part of the 2023-24 season, but with the Boston Celtics set to square up with the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas Day, the 28-year-old is good to go.
The Celtics are 6-2 this season without Porzingis, who most recently sat out Saturday night. But evident in their much more polished and offensively dominant style of play, the Celtics are a much different team with Porzingis on the floor.
Porzingis was upgraded from questionable to available, as confirmed by Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, ahead of the 5 p.m. ET scheduled tip-off from Crypto.com Arena on Monday. Porzingis rolled his ankle in the third quarter Wednesday and was forced to manage the injury for the remainder of the night.
"We've gotten to a good rhythm of what we are when he's out, what we are when someone else is out," Mazzulla told reporters, per NBC Sports Boston video. "I just think we have good continuity of the identity of our team."
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Since falling to the Warriors in Golden State to begin a four-game West Coast road trip last Tuesday night, Boston's flown past opponents on the scoreboard, piling on 289 points in its previous two matchups against the Kings and Clippers. That's an unrealistic expectation on a routine basis, however, the smooth offensive momentum and emphasis on building upon second-half leads are the most noticeable differences that have resulted in season-best victories consecutively.
The Lakers will be without guard Gabe Vincent.
Featured image via Eric Canha/USA TODAY Sports Images
