There is no denying that Kristaps Porzingis is a tough cookie. During Game 2 of the Magic series, he proved it by playing through a nasty injury scare. An accidental elbow from Goga Bitadze left a giant gash on Porzingis’ forehead, with blood pouring down his face. Despite that, he dropped a 20-point double-double to lead his team to victory. Sure enough, the Celtics were expecting something similar from the big man tonight. Instead, Porzingis was forced to make an early exit due to an unfortunate health concern.

As the Celtics faced the Knicks in Game 1 of the East semis, KP was subbed out midway through the second quarter. Turns out, he was struck by a sudden illness and was done for the night. He finished scoreless after spending merely 13 minutes on the floor. Obviously, his departure left a massive void and the Boston team ended up losing in overtime. Following the tough loss, Joe Mazzulla addressed Porzingis’ exit and how it affected the Celtics’ strategy.

“Yeah, haven’t seen him yet. We’ll check on him, but I mean obviously it impacts the game, with his ability on both ends of the floor. It obviously changes sub patterns, changes the things that you’re able to do matchup wise and play call frequency wise,” Mazzulla remarked. However, he is not using this setback as an excuse for tonight’s loss, “Yeah, I think we felt it but you know it’s no excuse. We had plenty of opportunities to do it.” Yes, the Celtics were ahead for majority of the game but let their lead slip away in the final quarter. Of course, Kristaps Porzingis subbing out after logging in just thirteen minutes raised another big question – why was he allowed to suit up if he was not fully healthy?

Turns out, Mazzulla had no idea about his illness until it was too late, “I found out during the game. Soon as I found out, we made the adjustment, but I’ll check on him here before we leave.”

Well, what’s done cannot be changed, and all the head coach can do now is remain optimistic: “Hopefully, he’s ready for Game 2.” The next game will be played on Wednesday, which gives KP a couple of days to rest and make a complete recovery. Meanwhile, Mazzulla has other problems to worry about.

Celtics’ concerns worsen as key player’s injury increases Joe Mazzulla’s troubles

Soon after Kristaps got sidelined due to a non-COVID illness, the Celtics suffered another major setback. In the third quarter, Sam Hauser landed awkwardly during a play and sprained his right ankle. He was forced to leave the game after playing only four minutes, and finished scoreless just like Porzingis.

Addressing Hauser’s injury, Mazzulla said post-game, “I think he hurt his ankle. Landed on it. I’ll check on him here before we leave, but I didn’t see the play, but I think he hurt his sprained his ankle.” Now, the head coach has two major uncertainties heading into Wednesday’s game—Kristaps Porzingis and Hauser. And the two consecutive setbacks only make things worse.

In case Porzingis and Hauser don’t suit up for Game 2, pressure will mount on Al Horford, Payton Pritchard, and Luke Kornet to make up for their absence. This puts the reigning champs in a real tough spot. Do you think they can overcome this challenge and avoid going down 0-2?