SI

Kristaps Porzingis Opened Up About Lingering Illness After Celtics' Elimination

Porzingis played 11 minutes in Boston's Game 6 loss.

Blake Silverman

Porzingis speaks to reporters following the Boston Celtics' loss to the New York Knicks
Porzingis speaks to reporters following the Boston Celtics' loss to the New York Knicks / Screengrab via Darko Dželetović (@DarkoBasketball) on X/Twitter
In this story:

Boston Celtics star big man Kristaps Porzingis played limited minutes throughout the team's second-round series with the New York Knicks. He only exceeded 20 minutes once in six games before the Knicks eliminated the Celtics Friday in a dominant 119-81 win.

In Friday's Game 6, Porzingis came off the bench and logged just 11 minutes, scoring four points along with five rebounds and a block shot. He missed eight games in March due to a viral illness. Last week, ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported that Porzingis was still dealing with side effects from that same illness, which has cause energy zaps and his stamina having ebbs and flows over the past couple months. After Celtics' season came to a close, Porzingis opened up about what he's going through.

"I always try to downplay it in my own mind," he said to reporters postgame. "It's like, 'I'm good, I'm good.' But I think just, I don't know, my system is not perfect right now. It's not working the way it should be. Many weird things and it might be that the best thing I need right now is just rest. Get somewhere in the sun and let my system kind of even itself out. But it's definitely a very frustrating time for me."

After Game 5, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said Porzingis "couldn't breathe" which is why he played only 12 minutes and none in the second half. The side effects must have still been around for Game 6, logging minimal minutes as Boston tried to force a Game 7.

Plenty of rest is on the docket for Porzingis now that the Celtics enter their offseason.

More NBA Playoffs on Sports Illustrated

feed

Published
Blake Silverman
BLAKE SILVERMAN

Blake Silverman is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, he covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball for numerous sites, including Winsidr, SB Nation's Detroit Bad Boys and A10Talk. He graduated from Michigan State University before receiving a master's in sports journalism from St. Bonaventure University. Outside of work, he's probably binging the latest Netflix documentary, at a yoga studio or enjoying everything Detroit sports. A lifelong Michigander, he lives in suburban Detroit with his wife, young son and their personal petting zoo of two cats and a dog.

Home/NBA