The Boston Celtics announced on Tuesday that Kristaps Porzingis suffered a torn medial retinaculum allowing dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon. If you thought you hadn’t heard of that ever before, well Dr. Daniel Kharrazi, an orthopedic surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and former consultant for the Los Angeles Lakers, told The Boston Globe that it is an injury he has only seen once in 25 years.
“I think the athletic trainers in the NBA are magical trainers and they’re very, very well-versed,” said Kharrazi. “A lot of times the ankle and the tendon can be taped to allow play. There are even some braces that they can use that help protect the tendon.
“I don’t think it’s something that he’s going to make worse by just playing, especially if he’s just running up and down the court, and even some lateral movements may be OK. This can be a repetitive issue if he has awkward landings or with his foot in certain positions which causes subluxation of the tendon.
“I don’t think it’s a season-ending injury. It is day-to-day and they have to reassess him. It’s something they’ll have to treat with either taping or bracing and then reassess to see if it’s stable enough for him to play.”
When the Celtics announced that Porzingis had suffered this injury in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, he was listed as day-to-day. That seemed odd with how serious it all sounded, but Dr. Kharrazi has now shed more light on the situation.
His point on the injury not worsening due to playing explains why Porzingis was able to stay in the game. The Latvian suffered that injury with 3:27 left in the third quarter and was still quite effective on the court afterward, although his movement was a bit limited.
Kristaps Porzingis after the injury:
– Stayed in for an additional 6:01
– Stayed with Kyrie 1-on-1
– Good lateral movement against Luka
– Huge block on Gafford
– Never went to the locker room
He should be fine…pic.twitter.com/SWFtRrurJW
— CelticsUnite (@CelticsUnite18) June 11, 2024
While Kharrazi’s analysis and that clip above would fill Celtics fans with optimism, notable athletic trainer Jeff Stotts painted a grim picture. Much like Kharrazi, Stotts also stated that he only had one other comp for the injury in his database.
Insight into Kristaps Porzingis' injury from notable athletic trainer @InStreetClothes: pic.twitter.com/ViXawMpmC8
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) June 11, 2024
We’ll just have to wait and see how this all pans out. Porzingis has made the trip to Dallas with the team and a picture of him in the city has been doing the rounds on X.
Porzingis out and about in Dallas today pic.twitter.com/fPWCK8vQx1
— Dallas Texas TV (@DallasTexasTV) June 11, 2024
I sure hope Porzingis gets to play in this series. It is a real shame that just after returning from over a month-long absence due to a right soleus strain, he has once again been hit by the injury bug.
Kristaps Porzingis Will Do Everything He Can To Play In Game 3
In the lead-up to Game 3, Porzingis made it clear he was going to do everything he could to play on Wednesday.
“It’s kind of a random situation,” Porzingis said. “I felt something, and now I have to deal with it. As we said, it’s going to be day-to-day and I’ll see how I am tomorrow, and obviously, I’m going to do everything I can to be out there tomorrow, and we’ll see.”
Kristaps Porzingis said he will do everything he can to play in Game 3 pic.twitter.com/hWjJ7394fv
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) June 11, 2024
If Porzingis isn’t able to play, it would be a massive blow to the Celtics. The 28-year-old is averaging 16.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 0.5 assists, and 2.5 blocks per game in the Finals in limited minutes. While the Celtics were able to easily cope with his absence earlier in these playoffs, I think they do need him out there against the Dallas Mavericks.
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