In Monday’s game, the Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis was forced to leave the court with 7:34 remaining in the second quarter due to illness and did not return, as reported by Souichi Terada of MassLive.com.
His absence left the team shorthanded, particularly on both ends of the floor, where his skills have been a key factor in the Celtics’ success this season.
After the game, the Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla addressed Porzingis’ departure and the subsequent impact on the team.
He admitted that not having the big man available certainly had a noticeable effect on the game, especially in terms of the team’s rotations, matchups, and offensive play calling.
“Obviously, it impacts the game with his ability on both ends of the floor,” Mazzulla explained. “And it obviously changes sub patterns or changes the things that you’re able to do matchup-wise and play-call frequency wise, so yeah, I think we felt it.”
Despite acknowledging the challenge, the coach was quick to emphasize that the team still had ample opportunities to perform and couldn’t use Porzingis’ absence as an excuse for the outcome.
“But it’s no excuse,” Mazzulla continued. “We had plenty of opportunities to do it, and hopefully he’s ready for Game 2.”
Celtics Notes: Shot Selection, Porzingis, Waitzkin, Mazzulla, Stevens https://t.co/GavSiNbuY9 pic.twitter.com/b3kNQ0x1hA
— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) May 6, 2025
