On Monday, the Celtics blew a 20-point lead at home to lose to the Knicks, in one of the biggest upsets of these playoffs. A major reason behind the shocking turnaround was the early exit of Kristaps Porzingis. The Latvian Center abruptly subbed out in the second quarter after playing just 13 minutes. Reports revealed that he was struck by a non-COVID illness and was done for the night.

As concerns grew about Porzingis’ health, Joe Mazzulla stated that it might be the same illness that forced him to miss eight straight games during the regular season, “Since he came back, I think he’s kind of been dealing with it and all fighting through it, working through it, doing the best that he can. And I think it was just too much for him in that game. He had been working through it since he’s gotten back and he’s done a great job of being available and it was just tough for him to continue yesterday.” Heading into tonight’s Game 2, KP was listed as probable on the injury report, hinting that he would be available to suit up. And he did.

After missing Monday’s entire second half, Porzingis made his highly anticipated return tonight. However, he looked like a shell of himself on the floor. He went scoreless after playing only six minutes in the first half, and looked gassed, trying to keep up. His disappointing first half showing had NBA legend Charles Barkley worried, as he issued a stern warning to the Celtics during halftime break, “If they don’t get him healthy, they going to struggle. They need him special, right now he’s not special.”

During last year’s title run, Porzingis averaged 12.3 points and over four rebounds in the playoffs, including a dominant 20-point performance in the NBA Finals. The Celtics need the big man in that form if they wish to win back-to-back. But his illness is clearly bothering him, and if it’s anything like last time, it could turn into a major concern going forward.

Respiratory issue led to extreme frustration for Kristaps Porzingis during his 8-game hiatus

In February-March, Kristaps was sidelined for eight straight games due to a similar issue. In fact, it took the medical staff quite some time to figure out what the Center was actually dealing with. Sure enough, that led to frustration for him, as he said, “Yeah, it was extremely, extremely frustrating not knowing what I had… At the end, it was some sort of—I don’t know exactly, but I think it was some sort of upper respiratory thing that turned into, like, something heavier. Like bronchitis is the word. Uh, something like that along those lines.”

Even when the illness got identified, it took Porzingis weeks to return to game shape, “I haven’t been sick for probably ever in my life. So, I was really for a week just laying at home, trying to recover. And after that, I still had lingering fatigue, and I still have it a little bit.”

The issue continued bothering him even after his comeback, and it looks like he is still feeling the effects to this day. Had the stakes not been so high, Porzingis would likely have rested for a longer period. But understanding that it’s the playoffs, the Celtics are doing everything they can to keep the Center healthy and available.

However, Barkley is right about the Celtics struggling if KP cannot play at 100%. Hopefully, his situation will improve in the coming games and he will return to being that 20-point a night scorer.