The Celtics will be back on the practice floor as a team in preparation for their NBA Finals matchup on Friday. Whether Kristaps Porzingis joins them is not yet clear.
Joe Mazzulla did not hint on where exactly Porzingis was in his rehab progression during his media session on Thursday at the Auerbach Center. The Celtics coach did not emphasize that Porzingis had not experienced any setbacks so far during his rehab from a calf strain suffered on April 29.
“I haven’t seen him doing what he’s doing specifically,” Mazzulla said. “But I know he’s getting better each day, I know he’s working hard. So I’ll get more when I go downstairs when he comes in today, but he’s progressing well and he’s working really hard to get back.”
Porzingis has missed 11 consecutive games for the Celtics since suffering the the calf strain on April 29th against the Heat. He was rumored to be targeting a return during the Eastern Conference Finals against the Heat but was never upgraded on Boston’s injury report during the four game sweep.
Mazzulla spoke in greater depth about Porzingis’ recovery in his interview with Zolak and Bertrand on 98.5 The Sports Hub on Wednesday.
“I do know he ramped it up on the court a little bit,” Mazzulla said. “Like I said, he’s working really, really hard. There’s been a couple shootarounds where he hasn’t done anything with the team but has been in a 1-on-1 setting kind of ramping it up with the intensity level of it. He’s been getting better and better.”
Porzingis will have a full week to progress with his rehab ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals on June 6. In the meantime, Mazzulla and the Celtics are scheduled for three practices before facing off against the Mavericks or Timberwolves in Game 1.
“Practice is all about the details and the margins,” Mazzulla said. “Making sure we get better as a team, making sure we get better offensively and defensively, making sure we understand our situational philosophies and situational execution, things that go into winning. Same things we’ve been doing all year. Those would be the points of emphasis. And so I think, regardless of who wins, we’ve gotta get better. So we’ll do that tomorrow.”
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