Just when the Celtics are getting ready to play the Pelicans, they have received some more awful news. With Joe Mazzulla expressing such deep concern that the Celtics could lose, this could be a serious blow for the team.
BOSTON — On a night when Neemias Queta was idle and dressed in street clothes, Luke Kornet vanished just before tip-off, and Kristaps Porziņģis ready to sit out the second half of a back-to-back the following night in order to treat his painful calf. Kornet never made it back to the bench as the Celtics declared him out with an adductor strain shortly after.
“I attempted to run a little bit, but it kept grabbing more and more,” Kornet said on Sunday to CLNS Media/CelticsBlog. Thus, I had to return. After doing some research, we kind of dubbed it a grade one strain because all of this stuff is genuinely extremely insignificant. We’re working through the slight discomfort that will occur. It’s already going well, so all you need to do is stay on course until you reach your maximum speed and everything seems comfortable.
After suffering the injury while dunking during pre-game layup lines, Kornet confirmed that Joe Mazzulla’s earlier prediction that he will miss one week is accurate. However, he added that there is no set timeframe for Kornet’s recovery and that they will take it day by day. Especially in games where Boston plays more double-big alignments, he had filled huge minutes in the depth behind PorziņĻis and Al Horford. Mazzulla had stated earlier in the week that the Celtics had chosen Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, Horford, and Kornet to make up their nine-man rotation when they were healthy.
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Essential Cs: Lamar Stevens perseveres
After a difficult start in his first significant rotation minutes of the season during the first half, Lamar Stevens performed well at the five in the second half on Thursday. With Porziņģis, Horford, and Kornet sidelined, Stevens started against the Magic on Friday. Along with Oshae Brissett and Queta, who substituted for Kornet in Sunday’s second game of the miniseries, Stevens helped the Celtics pull off a victory.
Regarding his absence on Thursday, Kornet stated, “I was already out by the start of the game.” “At that point, I decided to just hang out in the back here and wait until the end,” the patient said after returning here and participating in some treatment.
In addition to a career marred by injuries that had improved since he was acquired by Boston in the Daniel Theis deal in 2021, Kornet sustained the injury when bending the incorrect way on a dunk. He plans to leave on Monday for the west coast tour, possibly returning at some time during the journey that extends through Christmas. He will miss the back-to-back at Sacramento and Tuesday’s game against Golden State due to a one-week timeframe.
The Celtics are also evaluating PorziŇđis’s condition for those back-to-back contests. After missing four games due to a calf issue, Porziņļis hopes to play, just as he did on Friday when Boston held him back. However, they will be more cautious with his playing time going forward. On Friday, Boston showed that they could win even without all of its big guys in the rotation by showcasing their versatility in the front court. Seeing how Boston divides up their vacation time this week should be fascinating. Horford made his debut at the front end of a back-to-back earlier in the season.
It’s kind of day-to-day, according to Kornet. Although it’s not particularly precise, it’s helping things move forward day by day. That’s how things have already begun to be, which is encouraging, so we’ll see. The exact same thing happened to my right side two years ago, and after a week or two, I was able to resume playing.
