The Boston Celtics are targeting a December return for star big man Kristaps Porzingis, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. Porzingis is still recovering from an offseason ankle surgery to address a rare injury he sustained in Game 2 of the 2024 NBA Finals.
When Porzingis went under the knife in late June to repair a torn retinaculum and dislocated posterior tibialis tendon, the initial timeline was five-to-six months, so a December return would have him right on track.
"The Celtics are targeting December, from what I'm told, for Kristaps Porzingis and his return," Charania said. "And there was video I was seeing last night of him warming up before the game. He has not progressed to contact yet, but … he looks really, really good.
"If they didn't have the luxury of being where they're at now, maybe you're more pressed to bring KP back, but they have the luxury of being able to be patient. They can wait. They don't necessarily need to rush him back at all. If it ends up taking until January, it takes until January. But right now they're targeting December. It could even be earlier, but right now they're really focused on that month."
That coincides with what Celtics president Brad Stevens had to say just before training camp in late September. Porzingis' injury was "unique enough that we won't rush anything" Stevens said, adding that the organization was "very, very pleased with where he is and maybe a little surprised."
Any concerns about how the Celtics would fare without Porzingis this season have been quickly allayed. The defending champions destroyed the New York Knicks on opening night and are off to a perfect 4-0 start, with three of those wins coming by double-digit margins.
The Celtics boast an outrageous 126.1 offensive rating, which leads the league by nearly four points per 100 possessions, and a plus-14.9 net rating. In the opener against the Knicks, they tied the NBA record for 3-pointers in a game with 29, and lead the league in 3-point makes (21.5) and attempts (50.3) per game, as well as percentage (42.8).
Because they've been destroying teams, they haven't needed to put any extra burden on Al Horford, who is now 38 years old and has slid into the starting lineup in Porzingis' place. The veteran is averaging 26.3 minutes per game thus far, which is a tick under where he was at last season (26.8).
Adding Porzingis and his unique skillset back to the mix will only make the Celtics more dangerous. He averaged 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks last season while shooting 37.5% on 5.1 3-point attempts per game. That was the fourth time in his career that he had at least 1,000 points, 100 3-pointers and 100 blocks. No one else in NBA history has as many such seasons.