Boston Celtics president of basketball operations, Brad Stevens, recently clarified the reasons behind Kristaps Porziņģis`s restricted playing time during the NBA playoffs. On Monday, Stevens stated that Porziņģis contended with `post-viral syndrome` throughout the final stages of the season. Previously, the team had described his condition as an upper respiratory, non-COVID illness. Coach Joe Mazzulla had even mentioned after a playoff game that Porziņģis missed time because `he couldn`t breathe.`
This playoff setback followed an earlier illness during the regular season that Porziņģis had seemingly recovered from. The veteran center missed eight consecutive games in February and March due to the initial condition.
“I don`t think anyone was more frustrated than him,” Stevens commented. “And I felt for him because the way it was described to me was just post-viral syndrome, which is just lingering effects of a long illness.”
As a result of this condition, Porziņģis appeared off the bench in four out of the seven Eastern Conference semifinals games. He averaged just 15.5 minutes per game across the series, failing to exceed 24 minutes in any single contest – a notable reduction compared to his playing time in the preceding month and a half.
Stevens noted, “I thought he had really turned the corner there towards the end of the regular season. When we went to Madison Square Garden, he was so good. And then even in the first round. And then for whatever reason, he just didn`t feel as good there early in the Knicks series and never really felt great.” Stevens added that the intense schedule of a playoff series, with games every other day, travel, and the physical demands, makes it difficult to recover from such a condition.
Porziņģis`s statistical output in the conference semifinals reflected his diminished role and health issues, with averages of only 4.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 0.5 assists per game. This was a significant drop from his season averages of 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per contest.
Looking ahead, Stevens expressed optimism about Porziņģis`s recovery in the coming weeks and confirmed his plan to play for Latvia in EuroBasket. The international competition is scheduled to begin on August 27th, with Latvia facing Turkey.
Recalling his earlier illness, Porziņģis himself stated on March 15th after his return from the eight-game absence, “For a week, [I was] really just laying at home, trying to recover. And then after that, I still had lingering fatigue… But yeah, after each workout, I was — boom, big crash. So, I was really, really fatigued. Not normal. It was extremely, extremely frustrating not knowing what I had. I haven`t been this sick, probably ever, in my life.”
Jasper Hawthorne