More than twenty cameras were waiting for him on the floor of TD Garden for “media day”. Impressive pack of journalists curious to know where Kristaps Porzingis was. His calf injury against Miami in the first round did not really hamper Boston, which was easy in the play-offs (12-2). But against Dallas, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving in the final, the adversity goes up a notch and his 2 meters 18 will do good.
“I’m going to play tomorrow,” confirmed the Latvian, one of the two rookies who solidified the Celtics in the offseason with Jrue Holiday. The pivot assures that he “did everything possible to prepare myself”, while recognizing “that we cannot imitate the intensity of matches”. Even less Game 1 of an NBA final in Boston.
He impresses me a lot. He can play indoors or outdoors.
Al Horford on Porzingis.
A few minutes later, we saw him shoot from the racket, without forcing. Not a directive from his coach to hide the Celtics’ strategy from the media authorized to film the start of the session. Just the logic of an absence of more than a month. “The last two days I have been training slowly. Just to prepare my body for tomorrow (Thursday) and make sure I recover well. I hope to contribute to fulfilling our mission.” He didn’t feel left out of his team’s journey, he didn’t panic either, having been used to injuries for several seasons. But for his return to TD Garden, “I’m going to have goosebumps tomorrow, that’s for sure.”
Al Horford hails the “incredible abilities” of a giant with a 40% three-point success rate this season. “He impresses me a lot. He can play indoors or outdoors. He shoots from afar, he can protect the basket.” Satisfaction also among the opponent to see “the Unicorn” in a jersey and a complete Celtics team. “We want them in great shape, it’s going to be nice,” enthuses Dante Exum.
The Australian fullback did not play with “KP”, spent in Texas from 2019 to 2022, but Maxi Kleber did. The German particularly remembers the speed with which his former teammate drew his shots. He also assures that the failure of the Doncic-Porzingis association has left no trace. “We got along well but sometimes as a team it doesn’t work,” said the insider.
“I don’t know why it didn’t work. We were both young. We moved on,” explained Doncic. “The sports project did not work out as we hoped,” confirms Porzingis. “But it was a great experience for me. I have nothing but affection for all the people there.” Probably not enough to let them win the NBA title.
2024-06-05 22:13:22
#Kristaps #Porzingis #present #Game #NBA #Finals #Dallas
