BOSTON — The Celtics did not need Kristaps Porzingis in their win against the Cavaliers on Tuesday night but his return to the floor may come sooner than expected. The veteran big man took part in a scrimmage while practicing with the Maine Celtics on Monday at the Auerbach Center per team sources and felt good physically during the outing.
Teammate Xavier Tillman also joined Porzingis for the matchup to give him some NBA competition alongside the Maine Celtics, as well as a chance to get some run after falling out of the rotation.
“I only watched a little of it, but he came out of it okay,” Joe Mazzulla said Tuesday. “So he’ll just continue to ramp it up and get better and better.”
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Mazzulla also credited Tillman for helping out Porzingis getting some reps after falling out of the Celtics rotation in the past two weeks in favor of Neemias Queta.
“He just wanted to play,” Mazzulla said. “It was an opportunity to play, and he’s obviously done a great job of just doing what we’ve asked him to do, and so it’s a credit to him. We got a lot of respect for him for making that decision. He’s got to keep getting better and better. He’s brought great character, a great work ethic to it.”
Porzingis’ scrimmage with the Maine Celtics took place after a Celtics practice on Monday at the Auerbach Center which also allowed for other teammates to observe. Al Horford was encouraged by what he saw.
“I was able to watch a little bit of it,” Horford said. “Just excited, excited to see KP out there. He’s doing more and more stuff with us in practice and just really encouraging. Obviously we don’t know when he’s returning, but we’re just excited to see him doing more stuff with us, being more involved playing and getting his legs underneath him.”
The Celtics originally put December as a target date for Porzingis eventual return to the floor after offseason leg surgery but with seven-footer scrimmaging already, a return feels imminent sooner rather than later, barring any setbacks.
